Run Away
by The master of the game
Summary: A run away fleet sumbles upon a new world. They send an exploration crew on the surface, and they discover that the planet is inhabited by talking ponies. Will the ponies accept the humans and offer them shelter? Accepting OCs.
1. Prologue

**This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead or fictitious, places, real or fictitious, and organizations, real or fictitious, is purely coincidental and is in no way intended, except for the My Little Pony stuff.**

**My Little Pony is owned by Hasbro. I own the story, Chuck, Rosalie, the Federation of Nations, the Nightmare Mk 1 and Mk 2, the _Redemption _and every other craft you read about in this story.**

* * *

Captain's Log  
Year 12 of Defection  
- Today is the twelfth anniversary of the defection of me and my crew from the fleet. Fortunately, some of the other vessels joined me, thus forming our little fleet of run away. Whatever tensions there was twelve years ago are now gone. I heard from one of the other ship's captain that they were holding a ceremony to commemorate the battle that followed our defection, mostly to honour the fallen fighter pilots. And like each year, it will be hard for me. I miss you, Jenny.

* * *

Captain Charles 'Chuck' Manning walked down one of the several hallways of his ship, the _Redemption_. Today was the anniversary of the defection and the battle of the defection, as the crew called it. But for Chuck, it was one hard day._  
_

Each year, he would isolate himself in his living quarters, forbidding anyone to enter. He cried himself to sleep, thinking of all the brave men and women that died in the battle. Of course, they were all fighter pilots, and most were renowned for their recklessness. But Chuck had another reason to cry himself to sleep.

One of the pilots was his daughter. Jenny 'Nightmare' Manning, one of the best pilots the whole fleet had. A test pilot on top of that. Test pilots were well known for their recklessness, but also for their craziness. Chuck loved his daughter a lot, and when she declared that she would fight in one of the prototypes, thus making all the test pilots go out there, Chuck tried to stop her, even though he knew better.

Bringing a hand to his neck, Chuck felt the medallion his daughter gave him when she was younger. Inside the medallion were the pictures of those he loved that were now gone, mainly his wife Rebecca and Jenny. He opened the medallion to look one more time at the two women of his life before he reached the bridge where he would break the tradition by making a speech and broadcasting it to the entire fleet he now was in command of.

Chuck closed the medallion and stopped. Beside him was a viewing bay that showed the stars far away. But he was not really seeing the stars. He was seeing his reflection in the glass. Despite being only 43, his hair was already all grey due to the stress of running a fleet without causing it to fall apart like what happened twelve years ago. Even though he was tired, and the dark bags under his eyes confirmed it even if he kept saying the opposite, his green eyes showed a determination rarely seen among crew members. Only one other crew member had been known to have a similar determination in similar green eyes. And Chuck was proud of her, even if she was dead.

Chuck hated his uniform, finding it to formal for his taste. Being born on a farm in the American Midwest in a family of farmers from the middle class didn't help either. The navy blue uniform was fitting him nicely, allowing him all the freedom of movement he liked. Pinned against his chest were his two medals and his name and rank. Before being captain of the _Redemption_, Chuck was a fighter pilot. He had received the golden wings of honour and bravery after defeating an invasion force almost all by himself. In the battle, he lost all of his squad. The other medal wasn't really a medal of honour or something like that. It was an honorary medal given to veterans of the war against what was still called The Invaders due to a lack of any proper name.

Smoothing his uniform, Chuck took a deep breath before typing something on his command bracelet. The sliding door in front of him opened silently, revealing the fully manned bridge. Chuck let out the breath he took and walked on the bridge.

"Captain on the bridge." One of the younger crew member said in a thick British accent.

All the crew stopped working and saluted their captain before returning to what was occupying their shift. Chuck walked all the way to his chair and sat down.

"All stations, report." He said.

"Shields are at maximum, sir." A woman called.

"Weapons are fully operational." A man called.

"Long range communications are slightly disrupted, but she be back to fully operational in a few minutes, sir." Another woman, this one younger, called from the communication station.

"Sensors?" Chuck asked.

"Nothing on scan, sir. A few space pebbles, but that's it." A man called.

"Communications are back online, sir." The woman at the communication station said.

'Here goes nothin'.' Chuck thought as he cleared his throat.

"Prepare a general broadcasting over all channels. Fleet only."

"Yes sir!"

Chuck took a deep breath.

"Attention all crew. This is Captain Charles Manning speaking. As you may all know, today is the anniversary of our defection, and the anniversary of the battle that followed. Most of you know I suck at speeches and formalities, and I won't correct you. For twelve years now we have been running away from the Fed Fleet, and I am fed up of that. No pun intended."

Some crew members on the bridge giggled at the pun that was clearly unintended. Chuck smiled as he felt the atmosphere become less tense.

"You all may be aware that we recently founded a new planet that can sustain life. I won't annoy anyone with the techno-babble that comes with it. We are going to explore that planet, and if it proves right for us, we settle there and get ourselves some families. I wish you all a good day. Captain Charles Manning, out."

Chuck immediately went back to his quarters as fast as possible to avoid any questions. Of course, no one would actually ask him anything until the next day, but Chuck knew he threw a bomb at his crew. They were all home sick, and his declaration was just what they all needed. It was exactly what HE needed.

* * *

Down in the hangar bay, five test pilots were having a great time together. Several empty bottles of beer were scattered around the fighter on which they were sitting. They were silent ever since they heard the captain's speech.

"Ya think we'll finally have a planet ta call home?" A male test pilot asked.

"Hope so, bro." Another male test pilot answered.

Still silent, Rosalie 'Shockwave' Petit nodded absent mindedly. She had reddish-brown hair she kept short and grey eyes. She was still missing her best friend Jenny. She was then brought out of her thoughts by a waved hand in front of her.

"Hey, Shockwave! Why don't you smile, Pretty Face?"

"Stop calling me that, Crazy Bill."

"What? Shockwave, or Pretty Face?"

"Pretty Face, you moron!"

With that, Rosalie punched Bill 'Crazy Bill' Brown in the guts, making him fold in two with pain. The others laughed lightheartedly, eventually bringing Rosalie out of her mourning.

* * *

Chuck was woken up by his command bracelet. He looked at the small screen and saw an alert. Opening the alert report, he frozen, sweat appearing on his forehead.

'CRAP!' He thought as he quickly got up and put his uniform on.

He then ran to the bridge were there was a frenzy Chuck knew all too well. The pre-battle frenzy.

"Sensors report."

"A few minutes ago, around twenty small vessels came out of a hyperjump signature, followed by a frigate-class ship. The frigate-class ship is known, and from the Fed fleet. A support frigate. However, we have no information on the small vessels. We think they are fighter size, but we might be wrong." The man at the sensors said.

"Alright. Send the alert message to all pilots. And activate Fleet Command." Chuck order.

"I am always active, captain." A metallic and monotonous feminine voice called from the bridge's speakers.

A few seconds later, a hologram of a woman in her early twenties appeared in front of Chuck. Fleet Command was the AI responsible for fleet movement coordination with fighters.

"Alert message has been sent captain." Fleet Command said in her metallic and monotonous voice.

"Good. And stop talking in a monotonous voice. It's annoying." Chuck replied.

"Fine." Fleet Command told Chuck in an exasperated but still metallic voice.

Several crew members chuckled at Fleet Command's antics. It was well known that Fleet Command on the _Redemption_ had been created by Rebecca Manning, Chuck's wife. It was also common knowledge that Fleet Command, unlike the other Fleet AIs, had a personality of her own, and hated being refered to as 'it'. And since she had been programmed with some inspiration drawn from Jenny's favourite cartoon character Pinkie Pie, things could get interesting. She also prefered to be called by the name Crystal.

"Thanks!" Fleet command said to no one in particular.

"Who are-"

"Don't ask. Better let her be." Chuck interrupted the young man who tried to understand what had happened.

* * *

Rosalie was waiting for her squad to arrive. Her helmet was down on the dashboard of her Nightmare Mk 2 Heavy Interceptor while she was sitting in the cockpit. She was making the final verifications on her flight suit when the nine other members of her squad came in the hangar. She smiled and put her helmet on, connecting the air supply to her helmet's breather.

Once they were all in their Nightmares, Rosalie signaled the hangar's control tower they were ready to take off.

"Roger that, Sky-leader. Please stand by."

The Sky squad was one of the four ten-fighter squads on board of the _Redemption_. Rosalie was the leader of the Sky squad, thus the Sky-leader call signal.

"Sky squad, you are clear to take off."

"Roger that. Taking off."

Outside her Nightmare, the maintenance crew was hurrying to safety as the air was now gone and the Nightmares were about to take off. Rosalie took a deep breath. She then talked over the squad's comm system.

"Alright, guys. We're going out."

Rosalie smiled as several cheers came back to her. She put the throttle of her fighter to takeoff mode, and her Nightmare slowly went forward towards the open space. Once outside, she accelerated to combat speed, and took a left turn, flying along the heavy cruiser _Redemption_. Near the bow of it where the remains of the Federation of Nations insignia. It had been painted over shortly after the battle of the Defection. An alarm then brought Rosalie back to what she had to do.

"Okay. I'm picking up several signals up ahead. Assume tight delta formation." She said over the comm.

Several agreements were said, and the ten Nightmares were now in a tight V-shaped formation with Rosalie as the head.

"_Sky-leader, enemy vessels are 1.5 kilometres away from your position. Expect an attack as soon as you are spotted._" Fleet Command Crystal said.

"Roger that. You heard that guys. We'll chop up some Feds."

* * *

Chuck was watching the holographic tactical display showing twenty small red symbols, one bigger red symbol, and thirty small green symbols identical to the small red symbols. Over the small green symbols were the call signals of each fighter in combat.

"Sensors report."

"No new signature, sir."

"Good."

"I'll keep you updated as soon as there is something new on the sensors, sir."

* * *

"_Sky-leader, engage the enemy at will._" Fleet Command Crystal said.

"Roger."

The small Federation vessels were close enough to start gathering intel on them. From where she was, they didn't look like fighters. One of them then turned to face her, and she saw it was actually fighter, probably a new scout model. The scout opened fire on Sky squad.

Rosalie dodged the red energy bolts aimed for her. She then realised that they could not win in a formation. She was about to order a dispersion when Fleet Command Crystal had beaten her to it.

"_Sky squad, split up._"

Rosalie smiled and her squad split up. She began to chase a scout, powering up her magnetic canons. She shot several volleys of three rounds, each hitting bull's-eye. The scout blew up, pieces going in all direction. She avoided the debris and shot another scout down with the main weapon of the Nightmare Mk 2, a twin energy cannon with a fast firing rate.

The fight was almost over. Most of the scouts were destroyed, and the support frigate was in a poor condition. The two other squads then came.

"What took you so long?"

"_For your information, we took off from the other side of the ship._"

"Just destroy that frigate while my squad finish to exterminate the scouts."

* * *

Chuck was looking at the now almost red-free tactical display.

"Well, that was easy." He said

'Almost too easy...' He thought.

"Hyperjump signature detected. Several capital ships signals are coming from 2 kilometres away from our fighters."

"Issue retreat order."

"Yes, captain."

The thirty green fighter symbols then slowly came back towards the _Redemption_. But they seemed too slow.

"Move the ship to intercept our fighters, then issue a retreat order to the rest of our fleet. Tell them to join us at the new planet."

Three voices answered Chuck. The _Redemption_ began to move to meet the thirty fighters. The retreat order had already been issued, and all of the run away fleet had already made a hyperjump. Once the thirty fighters were properly docked and the hangars closed, Chuck issued his orders.

"Initiate hyperjump to coordinates 15.36 and 72.05."

"Yes, sir."

A blue window-like hyperjump portal appeared against the black space in the viewing bay of the bridge. The ship began to accelerate towards it, and went through it, disappearing from conventional space and from the Federation's sensors.

* * *

After several hours of travelling, the _Redemption_ finally ended its hyperjump. It appeared beyond a moon orbiting a blue-and-green orb similar to Earth.

"Current coordinates do not match input coordinates. We have misjumped."

"Scan the planet. We misjumped near an Earth-like planet. We just discovered a new planet."

After several seconds, the scan's results came in.

"Rocky planet. Strong magnetic field similar to Earth's. Slightly larger than Earth. Same rotational speed on its axis. Same tilt of the axis. Presence of water. Presence of oxygen. Presence of wildlife. Here some mountain ranges, which might indicate tectonic activity. Oxygen levels are slightly higher than Earth's. No sign of pollution. Signs of civilization. Huh..."

"What?"

"Well... Apparently, the civilization down there is at the equivalent of us in 1400-1500. However, there are signs of electricity. And hydroelectric dams."

"Atmosphere composition?"

"Similar to Earth's. Only difference is the oxygen levels."

"We will send an exploration crew on the surface."

"Yes, sir."

"I want seven volunteers for the mission. And put the ship in orbit around the planet. Halfway between the planet and its moon should do the trick."

All the crew on the bridge nodded and went back to what they were doing. The department of science was already aware of the planet, and they would want three scientists to go on the surface and analyze everything. Plus three soldiers to protect them in case of hostile activity. Plus a spot for anyone who wants to take a vacation. Chuck smiled. He already knew someone who would love to go down.

As Chuck turned a corner, he bumped into Rosalie.

"Captain, I want to go on the surface."

"Okay."

"I know I am not a ground soldier, but I really want to see something new."

"I said okay. Now go and prepare yourself."

"Yes, sir!"

Rosalie then ran back to her living quarters. Chuck smiled, and continued his way to his own living quarters.

* * *

Twilight Sparkle, the newest Princess of Equestria, was observing the moon through her telescope when a strange metallic object appeared out of nowhere near the disk. She looked at it through her telescope, but she couldn't see anything.

After several minutes of examining, the object began to move. It placed itself between the planet and the moon, then stopped moving. Twilight was contused, and decided to send a letter to the Princesses. But as she went back to ask Spike to make and send a letter to the Princesses, he burped a letter. Twilight caught it with her magic and read out loud.

"Dear Twilight Sparkle

We have seen a strange metallic object appear near our moon. We thought it was a teleportation spell at first, but there was no residual magic near the moon. We then decided to ask you to investigate this strange object and report your findings to us or our sister.

Luna"

"Looks like you won't sleep for another few days at least, Twi."

"I know, Spike. And I was about to ask you to get a letter to the Princesses about that object. I wonder what it is?"

Twilight looked up at the moon where there was a more reflective spot. From there also came a blinking red light. She let out a sigh and prepared everything so she could monitor it.

* * *

**Hey there! I hope you enjoyed. Before I end this chapter, I would like to say something. I will need OCs to fill in some spots in the fleet's crew for both the run away fleet and the Federation fleet. I will also need pony OCs to have some variation. Put your OC in a review with its name, race (pony or human), nationality (if your OC is a human), age, gender, rank (if military) or occupation, affiliation (if human (either the run away fleet or the Federation of Nations fleet)), a physical description, a personality description and some backstory. I hope to have many OC entries, and if your OC doesn't appear in the next chapter, it might appear in a future chapter. Also, I will keep the OCs that I choose a secret until they appear. See you next time!**


	2. Encounter

**Hey there! Before the chapter start, I would like to say that, unless otherwise specified, all handheld weapons are magnetic weapons, which means the bullets are fired out of the weapon not because of gunpowder, but because of a magnetic field. I also own every single weapon and vehicle mentioned in this story. Also, I would like to thank all those that submitted OCs. I am still accepting them, and the OC sheet is at the end of chapter one.**

**Also, I would like to point out that this chapter is my longest ever, with a stunning 5 131 words. The different OCs are owned by their respective creators, whose names are given at the end of the chapter. Have a nice reading!**

* * *

Chuck looked through his drawers, looking for anything that might be useful on the planet. He already had, in a bag on his bed, nothing. He was getting angry at the fact that he couldn't find the kit he made a few years back. He closed the drawer and went to his closet.

It was the last place he hadn't looked into. He opened the door, and the smell of old leather came out. He stopped for a moment and let out a sigh. He took out his leather jacket, a gift his father gave him. The jacket had been his father's, had he loved it. He threw it nicely on his bed, determined to wear it on the planet.

Chuck kept looking in his closet. After a few minutes of looking, he was about to give up when something caught his attention. It was an old bag, almost as old as his jacket. He took it out and put it down on his bed. He then unzipped the bag, revealing its content.

Combat knife, tent, dried food, several metres of rope... And his hand gun, still in its holster. Not one of the old 9mm, it was a relatively recent hand gun. Instead of gunpowder, the bullets were fired using the same technologies that were used in the magnetic cannons mounted on every ship of the fleet. But since he always liked firearms, his was a .37 caliber Magnum, packing the same punch the original had. He put the gun down and took the combat knife, un-sheathing it. It was a gift from one of his uncles who was in the army. He received it when he was nine, and it freaked his mother. At least he could defend himself now that he had a knife.

Chuck smiled at the memories. A chime then came from his command bracelet. He looked at the small screen on the device. A message had been sent to him, coming from the department of science. He put the knife back in its sheath and put it down, then he pressed on the small envelope icon on the screen, and the message opened. Chuck read it out loud.

"'Captain, the planet now has a name. Following the different conventions for alphanumeric names for celestial objects, the planet has been named EQU-15. The star around which the planet orbits has been scanned and shows major similarities between Earth's sun around 2000 and this star. Its name is C3L35-T1A. A scan of the stellar system shows evidence of a companion for this star, just like Earth's sun. However, it is clearly not a black hole as the gravitational disturbance isn't big enough. That unknown star has been called C3L35-T1B. The department is working on analyzing the rest of the planets in the system.' EQU-15? Equis... Ah, Jenny... You really have one weird sense of humor, just like that Pinkie Pie character."

Chuck then saw his exploration suit. It was getting old, and the pants were already full of holes. He took the pant and threw it in the garbage can. He took out the shirt and examined it. It was still in good shape, however it was now too small for him, since he gained a few pounds over the years. He put it down on his bed some way from the rest of the gear. He looked at himself and thought out loud for several minutes.

"Well, I could use some of my current clothing... I think I still have that pilot pant I used to wear all the time... And I could use my steel-toed boots... As for the shirt, one of my t-shirt should do the trick, with my leather jacket over it. Good."

Chuck went back to his closet and looked through the pants. He found what he was looking for, an old green pant pilots used to wear on Earth about twenty years ago. The pant had several pockets, and came with a belt made to hold several utility tools, which is why the belt was called 'utility belt'. He put the pant on his bed with the rest of the gear and began to change from his uniform to his exploration gear.

* * *

Rosalie was looking through her locker in the pilots' room. She was now wearing a green utility pant, complete with the newest utility belt, her black pilot's boots, and a white t-shirt. Her jacket was in her locker, but Rosalie wasn't looking for it.

After several more minutes of searching and cursing, she finally found it. Her magnetic 9mm hand gun. She attached the holster to her right leg. She then took her jacket and put it on. It was a black pilot jacket with the Sky squad emblazoned on the back. She closed her locker and went through her gear one last time.

She had all her utility tools in and on her belt. She also had a survival knife attached to her belt and hanging on her left leg. She had her magnetic 9mm attached to her right leg. She had three magazines for her hand gun, and the one currently in the gun was full, which meant she had a total of 60 bullets. She smiled and went to the ventral hangar, where the R-1 PLTTs (planetary lander and troop transport) were kept.

* * *

Chuck looked at himself in the mirror of his room. He was wearing his steel-toed green boots, his green pilot pant with the utility belt, and his leather jacket. Attached to his right leg was his .37 caliber magnetic Magnum. Attached to his belt on the same side was his combat knife. He looked ready to explore the planet.

Chuck walked to his bed and put everything he needed back in the old bag. The rope, the tent, the dried food. He then slung the bag's strap on his shoulder and began to walk towards his door. He stopped and turned his head towards the viewing bay. There, on the ink black space, glowing like a green-and-blue jewel was the planet called EQU-15, and probably already nicknamed 'Equis'. 'It looks some much like Earth did over twenty years ago...' He thought.

Chuck let out a nostalgic sigh and walked out of his room. As soon as the door closed with a suction sound, a metallic voice sounded in the hallway where Chuck was now standing.

"Captain, I would like to know where you are going."

"I'm goin' on the planet, Crystal." Chuck answered as he began to head towards the ventral hangar.

"It is against the protocol!" Crystal almost yelled, upset by his sudden behaviour.

"The protocol clearly states that the captain is to go on the planet with the first exploration party. Moreover, we are no longer under Fed jurisdiction, so I make the protocols now." Chuck replied with a pissed voice.

"I want to come." Crystal said with a small voice that would suit a five-year-old girl better.

Chuck stopped and let out a sigh.

"Why?" Was all he could say.

"Because it would be FUN!" Crystal replied in a tone that would make Pinkie Pie proud.

"Fine... I hope I won't regret it." Chuck said as he pushed a button on his command bracelet.

"YAAAY! This deserves a PARTY!" Crystal's voice was now coming from Chuck' command bracelet.

Music then started, coming from the command bracelet. 'It's going to be a long exploration...' Chuck thought as he resumed walking towards the ventral hangar, getting some barely concealed snicker has he walked through the hallways with music coming out of his command bracelet.

* * *

Rosalie was leaning against one of the PLTTs. She was the first in the hangar, even before the pilot of the R-1. She was about to go and sit down on a crate of supply when someone stepped in the hangar, and pushed a pipe off of a crate, causing a loud noise.

"Sorry." Came a weak and shy apology from behind a pile of crates.

Then the owner of the voice stepped out from behind the crates, dragging a crate from the department of science. He was tall, and had short and messy blond hair. He was wearing a lab coat. He was also wearing glasses and had forest green eyes. He turned his head towards Rosalie.

"Could you help me? If you don't mind..." He asked, his voice still weak and shy.

"Sure."

Rosalie walked to the man. He was not much taller than him, and she was 1m 67 tall.

"So you want me to get that crate of yours to the lander?"

"Yes. Thanks, Miss..."

"Rosalie. Rosalie 'Shockwave' Petit." She said as she extended a hand towards the man.

He took the hand and shook it weakly. He then quickly stopped and brought his hand back to his side.

"Doctor Kyle Sanders."

Rosalie smiled at Kyle, then she turned towards the crate. She grabbed the handles and began to lift it, only to realise that it was extremely heavy. Not something she couldn't drag, but it was still really heavy. She began to move towards the PLTT against which she was leaning earlier.

She was almost at the PLTT with the crate when she heard a familiar voice call her from the lander.

"Hey! Shockwave!"

"What are you doing here, Crazy Bill?"

"I'm gonna get you and the rest of the exploration party to the surface."

Rosalie nodded as she began loading the crate in the PLTT.

"Any idea when the Cap'n will arrive?" Crazy Bill asked.

"How about now?" Came the slightly rough voice of Chuck from the other side of the R-1.

"Nice timing, Captain." Rosalie said as she left the R-1, the crate secured in the hold of the vessel.

Chuck walked to where Rosalie, Bill and Kyle were, a smile across his face. His unzipped jacket showed his black t-shirt and his dog tags. Then came the regular sound of two pair of steel-toed boots walking on the metallic floor of the second level catwalk. They all looked up to see two men walking towards the stairs, both having a bag slung over their shoulders. They were having a lively conversation.

"Listen Burt. You got to let it go. Move on. I mean, my kid killed himself 'cause of one of my guns, and I ain't messed up in the head."

"Already told you, Major. She and my kids got killed because of those hijos de puta of Feds. They will pay for what they did."

"Watch your language... You don't want to get disciplinary measures to be used, right?"

"Sí... But it doesn't change anything about what I think of them."

The two men were now on the same level as Chuck, Rosalie, Bill and Kyle. The first one, the one with the rank of major, was the tallest of the two. He had short black hair and icy blue eyes. He was wearing a dark green uniform, the standard issued uniform for the exploration of foreign worlds. The uniform came with a transparent plastic-kevlar armour that covered the shoulders and the torso, but the major wasn't wearing it at the moment. His dog tags were visible on his uniform.

The other man, the one apparently called 'Burt', had a somewhat dark skin similar to the Latinos. Combined with his strong hispanic accent and the Spanish words spoken here and there, one could easily tell he had family coming from South America. He was bald, and had a neatly trimmed black mustache. His eyes were brown and showed a really hard past. He was wearing the standard exploration uniform, minus the jacket, showing his black t-shirt. One could easily make out his muscles under his t-shirt. His dog tags were also visible on his chest.

"Major Lloyd Adams and Sergeant Burt Rodriguez." Chuck said as he saluted the two men.

The two men saluted Chuck back.

"Lieutenant general." Lloyd said.

"Captain." Burt said.

"Burt, his rank..."

"It's okay, Lloyd. Everyone knows I prefer to be refered to has 'captain'." Chuck told Lloyd.

Lloyd nodded.

"Now put your bags in there. We're still missing three people. Two scientists, and one more soldier." Chuck explained.

Lloyd and Burt nodded and went in the PLTT to put their bag down. Bill also went inside to run the pre-flight checklists. Kyle stood there, his hands in his pockets. Rosalie let out a sigh and showed him the R-1. Kyle understood and went inside.

"So... When are they coming?" Rosalie asked.

"I don't know... Any minute now, I guess..." Chuck replied.

"Then your guess would be right, Capitaine." A male voice that sounded young said from behind the supply crates near the entrance in front of Chuck and Rosalie.

From behind them came a tall man. He had green eyes, skin paler than usual, short chestnut hair combed to one side, and a chestnut Royal beard neatly trimmed. He was wearing light exploration armour. It was green and made of ultra resistant plastic. Hanging from his shoulder was a LDR-105 Sniper Rifle, customized by the owner with a high precision scope. It was one of the most powerful sniper rifles available on the market, and one of the most expensive.

"Corporal Richard Martin." Chuck said without any enthusiasm.

"Capitaine." The Frenchman said in French.

Richard then went inside the R-1. Rosalie shook her head.

"I was hoping this bastard would not show up." Rosalie said with a sigh. "I guess I can't have everything..."

Rosalie then walked in the PLTT. Chuck smiled and shook his head. Then, a noise caught his attention. He went to the origin of the sound and found a scientist on his knees trying to gather his sampling equipment. He had grey hair tied in a pony tail while he had no hair on the top of his head. He was wearing glasses. The man then got up, and turned to face Chuck. His eyes were dull blue, and he had a grey goatee. He was wearing an exploration suit typical of the geologists.

"I'd appreciate a hand, captain." He said.

"Sure." Chuck answered.

Chuck then kneeled and help the man gather his equipment. Once everything was back in the case, they both got up and the man extended a hand towards Chuck.

"I'm Doctor John McCree."

"Honored." Chuck said as he shook the hand.

John took his case and went inside the R-1 while Chuck stood there and watched. A throat being cleared caught Chuck's attention and he turned around. In front of him was a woman about his age with semi-long blonde hair, cold brown eyes and thick rimmed glasses. She was wearing a lab coat, and she had a case with the logo of the department of science.

"Charles." The woman said dryly.

"Sarah. It's been a long time."

"Since Rebecca's death."

Doctor Sarah Samson walked past Chuck and went straight for the R-1. Chuck shook his head and walked to the R-1 as well. He walked up the ramp into the hold. Sitting in the benches on one side were the three soldiers, their bags and equipment at their feet. Across from them, sitting on the opposite side, were the three scientists and Rosalie. The crate and the two cases were solidly strapped to the PLTT's floor. Chuck walked to the cockpit where Bill was busy making the verifications of the pre-flight checklist.

"We're almost ready to takeoff, sir. I suggest you take a seat in the back." Bill said.

"You know I'm a pilot too, huh?"

"No, sir. I didn't know."

Chuck sat in the navigator's seat.

"So I'm sticking with you more than a chewing gum to the soles of your boots." Chuck said as he strapped himself in the seat.

Bill nodded as he finally completed the checklist. He then took the headset from the console in front of him.

"Control tower, this is New Bird. All the crew is inside and we're ready to takeoff." Bill said in the microphone, smirking at Chuck.

"One moment, New Bird. Please stand by while we verify the certificate of the mission." The answer came from the cockpit's speakers.

The radio was silent for several minutes. Bill was slowly getting worried, while Chuck kept his cool. Suddenly, the speakers sounded.

"Okay, New Bird. You're all clear. Close your hatch for the depressurization process."

"Roger that." Bill answered, clearly relieved.

He pushed a few buttons, and a mechanical buzz could be heard as the two ramps slowly retracted and the hatches closed, creating an air-tight seal. Bill got up and poked his head in the hold.

"Ladies and gentlemen, please fasten your seatbelt. We are taking off in a few minutes."

He got back to his seat and buckled up. Then, the mechanical rails on which the R-1 was resting began to move the R-1 towards the launching area, which was open to the space. A door opened to let the R-1 pass, then it closed immediately after it was in the launching area. As the PLTT positioned itself beside the open ventral hangar doors, the planet's surface was visible. There were almost no clouds.

"New Bird, this Control tower. Prepare for the mechanical claw." The speaks spat in the cockpit.

Then, metallic sounds were heard in the hold and the cockpit as the mechanical claw grabbed the R-1 and magnetically attached itself to the hull of the PLTT. The claw lifted the ship and positioned it over the wide opening in the hangar floor.

"New Bird, prepare for release." The speakers spat again. "Good luck."

Metallic sounds were heard again as the claw let go of the PLTT. The vessel slowly fell out of the hangar. Once the vessel had completely cleared the imposing heavy cruiser that was the _Redemption_, Bill activated the thrusters, causing the PLTT to go forward towards the planet.

* * *

Twilight yawned for the umpteenth time. The strange object had not moved again. She was beginning to consider going to bed when something caught her eye. Something seemed to have come from the belly of the object. Twilight grabbed the telescope with her magic and brought it to her eye.

Through the magnifying effect of the telescope, Twilight saw what looked like a wingless bird. The front end of it was somewhat flat, then it became bulky all the way to the end where three distinct light sources could be seen.

"SPIKE!"

The little dragon jumped out of his basket, Twilight's shout having worked its charm of awakening him.

"Yes Twilight?" The still sleepy dragon asked.

"Take a note for Princess Luna."

Spike reached on a nearby shelf and took a piece of parchment and a quill.

"Dear Princess Luna,

After my continuous monitoring of the object, I discovered it just launched a smaller object I can only describe as a wingless bird. It should take several hours before it reaches the surface, probably not before dawn. I hope this information will be helpful.

Princess Twilight Sparkle." Twilight dictated to Spike.

The purple dragon finished writing, then he sealed the letter and burnt it, sending it to the Princess of the Night. Twilight went back to her observing spot while Spike went back in his basket, falling asleep almost immediately.

Twilight looked at the strange object until her eyes began to close. 'I wonder what is going on...' She thought as she went to sleep.

* * *

Chuck was used to not sleeping, and so was Bill. As pilots, they had to be ready at anytime to fly, and they had to be able to not sleep for several hours as some missions sometimes required them to fly for hours.

They had flown for about ten hours, and the planet was now bigger than it had been while they were on the _Redemption_. Bill had corrected their trajectory five times already, and they had at least one more adjustment to do before entering the atmosphere. Chuck had initiated the scan for a landing zone, and was still waiting for the results to come in.

Suddenly, a chime came from the console in front of Chuck. On the small screen of the navigator's station, possible landing zones organized by suitability scrolled down. Chuck went back to the beginning of the list and brought a map up. On it was marked the selected landing site with a green triangle.

The site was located near an apple orchard and an extensive forest. Close to the site was a small town.

"I think I have our landing site." Chuck said as he sent the data to Bill's navigation screen.

"Looks good to me." Bill said, and made the required adjustments and orientated the PLTT towards the landing site.

The R-1 responded and progressed towards the atmosphere. As it came in contact with the atmosphere, the outside of the cockpit began to heat up. Suddenly, the R-1 slowed down as it came into contact with a new layer of the atmosphere. Sounds from the outside slowly began to be heard, and the hull began to shake as flames licked the hull and the thermal shield.

"One minute and fifty-five seconds to landing." Bill called.

They were going at a supersonic speed. Bill was struggling with the controls as the R-1's nose slowly rose up. The ground below them was coming closer at a really quick pace.

"One minute and thirty-three seconds to landing."

The R-1 re-orientated itself as Bill forced the controls to obey him. His forehead was now covered with sweat. 'One minute and twelve seconds to landing.' Chuck thought. He held on tight to the console in front of him. The R-1 began to slow down more, its nose rising yet again.

They reached the cloud layer, passing right through one of the clouds. The cloud entirely pop out of existence as the shockwave of the R-1 reached it. 'Fourty-six seconds to landing.' Chuck thought as the ground was now really close to the R-1. The nose rose again, this time bringing the R-1 to an almost horizontal position. They were going slower yet again.

The orchard was now in view. Bill cut the thrusters and activated the air brakes and the reverse thrusters to reduce the speed of the R-1.

"Twenty-five seconds to landing." Bill called.

He put the reverse throttle to maximum, slowly bringing the R-1 to a stop. It hovered over a clearing with a road just beside. The hovering thrusters were howling madly. Bill slowly reduced all throttles to zero, gently bringing the R-1 on the ground. The grass just under the PLTT was now burnt to a crisp.

"And we have touchdown. Please take your bags and wait for your attendant to open the door to the outside world. Thank you from travelling with Air Crazy." Bill said, a smirk on his sweat covered face.

Chuck then un-buckled, and walked in the hold. The three soldiers had their armour on and their weapon in hand. Burt had a small MR-18 submachine-gun, and he had PR-45 strapped to his back. Lloyd also had a PR-45 in his hands. Both also had the aiming glasses on. Richard was holding his LDR in a waiting stance. Chuck went to one of the sides of the PLTT and pushed on the intercom button.

"We're ready to get out. Open the hatches."

Then, the buzzing sound characteristic of the opening and closing of the hatches and the ramps could be heard across the hold. Chuck waited for the hatch to be fully open before he gesture to Lloyd. Lloyd nodded and got out, searching around the landing site, his gun ready to shoot down any hostile. Chuck then waved at Burt, who nodded, and he went outside. He also searched the landing site, but on the opposite side of Lloyd.

He gestured to Richard and Rosalie, who nodded. Rosalie took her 9mm while Chuck took his .37 caliber Magnum. He then gestured to the scientists to get out. They got out one after the other, Rosalie to the front, Richard in the middle and Chuck at the back. They waited outside near the open side of the R-1.

After a few minutes, Lloyd and Burt came back and made their report.

"Nothing on the right side of the PLTT." Lloyd said.

"Nothing on the left side as well." Burt added.

"Alright. Set a security perimeter around the R-1."

Burt and Lloyd nodded and went back inside to take the necessary things to set up the perimeter. Chuck then looked at the scientists.

"Go get your equipment." Chuck said.

He then went back in the R-1, followed by the three scientists. Rosalie put her gun back in its holster. She looked around and took a deep breath.

"Fresh air..." She said quietly.

"You should look towards that apple orchard. I think something his coming this way." Richard said.

Rosalie un-holstered her gun and turned to face the direction Richard was looking towards. At the same time, Chuck got out of the R-1 with his bag. He saw Rosalie aiming towards whatever was coming at them and he put his bag down, taking his own gun and aiming down the same direction.

"_What in tarnation is goin' on?!_" A voice, apparently female, said in a language the humans didn't understand.

The three humans outside the R-1 didn't believe their eyes. Coming towards them was an orange pony with a blonde mane and tail and green eyes wearing what looked like a Stetson. Funnily enough, her mane and tail were tied in a pony tail.

Chuck lowered his gun and smiled. 'You're still at it, Jenny...' Chuck thought as three more ponies came from the town.

* * *

Twilight had run as fast as she could, forgetting her wings. On her way to Sweet Apple Acres, the landing zone of the wingless metallic bird, she came across Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy. The latter was hiding in a bush while the former tried to get her out of hit.

Twilight had stopped and managed to get Fluttershy out of the bush. She then resumed her frenzied sprint, Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy following her as fast as possible. When they arrived, they saw several hairless bipedal apes wearing strange clothing and holding strange devices. Applejack was also there, but she was keeping her distance.

"Twi, what happened?!" The orange earth pony asked.

"A strange object appeared in the sky last night. At some point, it launched another object. I fell asleep as I monitored the progression of that wingless bird. I woke up when I heard the shockwave." Twilight explained.

"But what are they?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"I don't know, but the Princesses are aware of the wingless bird." Twilight said.

Twilight then turned to face the ape creatures.

"Hello. My name is Twilight Sparkle, and in the name of all the Princesses, I welcome you to Equestria." Twilight said in a diplomatic voice.

_"Sorry, but we don't understand._" One of the creature said.

Twilight's ears drooped as she realised what a dumb mistake she made. She took for granted that the creatures in front of her spoke the same language as all the inhabitants of Equestria. Fluttershy then walked to Twilight and gently tapped her shoulder.

"I can understand them." She said. "After all, they are probably animals. Out-of-this-world animals, but animals nonetheless."

"It's worth a shot, I guess." Twilight said with a sigh.

* * *

Chuck had been surprised when he heard the yellow winged pony - a Pegasus, just like in the mythology - talk. Even if she spoke the same language as the three other ponies, he knew what the yellow meant. As if she could communicate with animals on another level. And since humans were animals, a belief that had been hard to accept, it made sense that they could understand her. And she seemed to understand them in the same way.

Once the diplomatic speech was done, Bill walked out of the R-1. When he saw the ponies, he did a double take.

"Am I seeing right?"

"Yeah." Chuck said to the stunned Bill.

"_Now that we have taken care of the diplomatic speech, let's move on to the formal introduction._" The purple winged unicorn said, and the yellow Pegasus repeated so the humans understood.

"Can we wait?" Chuck said.

"_Why?_" The yellow mare asked.

"There are others inside this." Chuck explained with a gesture towards the R-1.

The yellow mare nodded and repeated what Chuck had said to the other ponies. Soon, all three scientists, as well as Lloyd and Burt, came out of the R-1 with some equipment. Kyle almost dropped what he was holding when he saw the ponies, letting out a squeal of joy.

"We can start now." Chuck said.

"_Okay. These are my friends Applejack, Rainbow Dash and Twilight Sparkle. And I am Fluttershy._" The mare called Fluttershy said as she presented the ponies present around the landing site.

"I am Charles Manning, captain of the spaceship _Redemption_, and these are the members of an exploration party. They are Rosalie Petit, Kyle Sanders, Sarah Samson, Richard Martin, Burt Rodriguez, Lloyd Adams, John McCree and Bill Brown." Chuck said as he pointed to each member of the team as he said their name.

* * *

"_We would like to use this area as our temporary base during our exploration of your world. We would also like it if you could pass a few biological and medical tests._" The creature named Charles said.

"They would like to use this place as their temporary base while they explore our world. They would also like if some of us passed some biological and medical tests." Fluttershy repeated what Charles had said so the Twilight could understand.

"Tell them that they can't do anything as long as the Princesses are not here." Twilight said.

Fluttershy repeated, and the ape-like creatures seemed a little disappointed.

"Don't worry. I am sure Princess Celestia will arrive soon." Fluttershy told the creatures.

Charles nodded, and gestured to the others who seemed to go back in the strange wingless bird. They quickly came out of it, and began the waiting for Princess Celestia to arrive.

* * *

**So, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I am hoping to make chapters that are as long, or even longer, than this one in the future. And don't think there will be no action, because there will be. And a lot. Now, for the owners of the OCs.**

**Kyle Sanders and Lloyd Adams are owned by OracleSight.**

**Burt Rodriguez is owned by ShiningShadow1965.**

**All other OCs are owned by me.**


	3. Battle

**Hi everyone! A new chapter is here, and it is my longest one with 5 668 words! Also, OCs are owned by their respective creators. **

* * *

Twilight was pacing as she waited for the Princess. It had been three hours since the creatures had arrived, and since then, the rest of her friends, as well as Spike, had come to the landing site. Fluttershy had spoken with the one that seemed to be the leader of the small team. According to him, they wanted peace between their respective species. He also told Fluttershy, who told Twilight and the others, that he prefered to be called Chuck.

Twilight was getting impatient when a chariot arrived, pulled by two white Pegasi. Celestia was proudly looking at the creature. As the chariot touched down, Celestia stepped off of the chariot and walked towards Twilight.

"So these are what caused that supersonic shockwave."

"Yes. And they are also responsible for the strange object in the sky. They say it is a spaceship, and that they mean no harm to us." Twilight explained.

Celestia nodded and walked towards Chuck. He had a small smile on his face has he knew who was coming towards him. The smile was really small, and Celestia could be sure that she was the only one who saw it. Chuck got up and bowed.

"_Your highness._" Chuck said.

Fluttershy repeated what Chuck had said, and it made her smile. A chime then came from Chuck's command bracelet, and soon, an holographic depiction of a young woman appeared in front of Chuck. Knowing full well that it was technology beyond a normal pony's comprehension, Celestia thought about a spell she could use to grant the creatures the ability to communicate with ponies more easily.

* * *

"Captain, the ship has sent a message. It is imperative that you read it as soon as possible." Crystal said, her metallic voice barely recognizable due to her barely concealed excitement.

Chuck nodded, then he realised that Celestia's horn was glowing. She lowered her head so that her horn touched Chuck's command bracelet. After a few seconds, Celestia raised her head, her horn no longer glowing.

"_I don't know what she did, but it seems that there is new knowledge in the ship's database._" Crystal said in Equestrian. "And apparently, that knowledge is a new language. You should all be able to understand them now. I turned your earpieces into translator."

"And what about them?" Sarah asked.

"It works both way. The built in microphone of your earpiece will transmit what you say to the Captain's command bracelet. Your words will be translated and will come out of the bracelet." Crystal explained.

"I think there are a few translator thingies on board of the R-1." Bill said as he walked back in.

After a few minutes of noises, Bill came out with seven earpieces that looked weird.

"That will work perfectly. Thanks!" Crystal said as she began reprogramming the translator devices.

"You're welcome." Bill said.

"I'm done! Now, put it on so the speaker is against your throat." Crystal instructed.

Everyone but Chuck put on one of the translator devices. Once they were all done, Crystal activated her work.

"Say something!" Crystal encouraged.

"Do you understand me, Princess?" Chuck asked.

"Yes, I do."

"That takes care of one problem." Bill said.

"Now, I am sure Twilight already told you, but we would like to use this area as our base of operation during the time we explore the planet."

"She didn't. But I guess that as long as you do not cause any problem, it will be fine." Celestia told Chuck.

Chuck nodded, happy that at least one of their demands had been granted.

"Also, since it is the first time that we humans come across your kind, we would like to be allowed to do some tests, biological and medical tests, on some of your subjects. We want them to be willing to undergo those tests."

"It makes sense. However, you must grant us one thing. It is similar to your second command, as it would be a great opportunity for our scientists to examine and study your kind."

"Then it's settled. And to show I completely trust you, I volunteer to be studied."

"I volunteer, too." Sarah quickly added.

"Okay. Set up the perimeter, but do not put up defense turrets. Guard the perimeter instead."

Burt and Lloyd nodded and began putting up some temporary fortifications. Kyle went back in the R-1, and came out with the crate. With the help of Rosalie and Richard, he put it down some distance away from the R-1 and began setting up his temporary lab.

Celestia then turned to the two white Pegasi and whispered something to them. They nodded and took off, going back to where they came from. Chuck then looked at his command bracelet and opened the message. It read:

'We have received a subspace communication from _Eldorado_. Apparently, we forgot to deactivate our subspace beacon. As soon as we received the transmission, we deactivated it. The _Eldorado_ is on its way here. They also contacted the rest of the fleet and transmitted our coordinates.'

Chuck smiled. They would be able to defend themselves, as well as the planet and the ponies. He turned to face Kyle.

"Dr. Sanders, when you are ready, you can start studying some subjects."

Kyle nodded and resumed putting his equipment together. Then, more Pegasi guards came, as well as another chariot, this one with Luna. Some of her guards were following her. As soon as the chariot landed, Luna stepped off of it and walked to Celestia.

"Are you sure about this?" Luna asked in a whisper.

"I am not, but the Element of Kindness seems to trust them." Celestia answered in a whisper.

In front of Celestia and Luna, Fluttershy was talking to Burt. Whatever they were talking about seemed to make Burt cry. Bill them came out of the R-1.

"Captain, incoming transmission. It's from the ship, and it has a high level priority." He said.

"What level?" Chuck asked, slightly pissed.

"Level Red, five stars."

"Crap."

* * *

As soon as Bill had said the priority level, Chuck rushed to the communication station of the R-1. He was now listening to the transmission.

"...hyperjump signature was detected about three hours ago. The reason why we didn't communicate sooner was that the signature was located on the other side of the planet. We also picked up a hyperjump warp signature in the planet's atmosphere. No further information on that at the moment. The ship has been put on high alert. End of transmission."

The hologram of the young man vanished as the transmission reached the end. Bill was standing in the cockpit's doorway.

"What do we do?"

"We break the rules." Chuck answered as he walked past Bill, tapping his shoulder.

Chuck go out of the R-1 and quickly gather the military personnel.

"I'm going back up." Chuck said.

"But you can't!" Rosalie replied.

"I don't care if there's any disease I could bring up on the ship. Anyway, we found a cure for cancer! Most of the known diseases are less fatal than they were a hundred years ago. However, I need someone to fill in as a test subject for their scientists. And I will probably have to get one of them up with me as well." Chuck explained.

"What are you talking about?" Celestia asked.

"We received a transmission from our ship, and I need to go back on it." Chuck explained.

"What made you think I would want somepony to go up with you?" Celestia inquired with an amused expression.

"Force of habit, I guess." Chuck said with a far-from-convincing chuckle.

Celestia let out a chuckle of her own. She then turned to Twilight.

"Twilight, who from your friends do you think is best suited to be our ambassador on their ship?"

The question took Twilight by surprise. She stuttered, unable to say anything that made sense.

"I'll do it." A weak and shy, yet determined voice said.

"Fluttershy? Really?" An unbelieving Twilight asked.

"Yes. And it will allow me to learn more about them. Besides, I can understand them and they can understand me."

"Then it's settled. Fluttershy, I hereby declare you Equestria's Ambassador on the human spaceship _Redemption_."

Fluttershy bowed before Celestia. Chuck then tapped her shoulder to get her attention.

"We gotta go."

Fluttershy followed Chuck in the R-1. She was amazed by the PLTT's hold. Chuck then spoke to her.

"I'd normally say take a seat, but in your case it's useless. The seats won't work for you. I'm sorry, but I have to strap you like a crate of supply."

"Why?" Fluttershy asked.

"Because when we fly through the atmosphere, it'll shake like Hell."

"Hell?"

"Tartarus. He meant Tartarus."

"No I didn't."

"Now go prepare the R-1 for take off."

Bill nodded and went back in the cockpit. Chuck strapped Fluttershy to the floor, making sure she could still breath. Once it was done, the buzz of the closing ramps and hatches signaled Chuck to buckle up quickly. As soon as he sat down, the engines of the R-1 roared to life, startling Fluttershy. Chuck quickly attached the straps of his seat and waited for the end of the trip out of the atmosphere.

* * *

First Lieutenant Jim 'Jimmy' Carson watched the tactical display showing the progression of the R-1 'New Bird'. Apparently, Chuck was coming back a lot sooner. Jim got up from the captain's chair on the bridge and left, causing some technicians to wonder what was going on.

Once he was outside and he was sure that no one was coming, he lifted his sleeve, revealing a device similar to a command bracelet. Jim pushed a button, and spoke in the device.

"The fish took the bait. I repeat, the fish took the bait."

Once he was done, Jim put his sleeve back over the device and walked back on the bridge as a control tower communication was being broadcasted all over the bridge.

"New Bird, you are clear for landing. Quarantine crew will escort you to your quarters."

"Sorry, control tower, but the captain told me that if that was said, to say bypass protocol alpha sierra one three."

"Alpha sierra one three? Are you sure? Because if that's the case, then it bypasses all protocols and basically breaks all the rules."

"Those are the captain's orders."

"Okay. Decontamination crew will be waiting for you."

"Roger that."

The transmission then ended. 'Crap. I didn't think he would do that...' Jim thought.

* * *

Down in the ventral hangars, several men wearing hazmat suits and equiped with decontamination pack watched as Fluttershy walked out of the hold of the R-1. Chuck followed shortly.

"Clean us so we can pass." Chuck ordered, his voice showing he was down right pissed.

The decontamination crew obeyed and cleaned Fluttershy and Chuck before cleaning the landing zone of the R-1. When they all left, the R-1 went back on the planet. Chuck turned to Fluttershy.

"I'm sorry about what is going on, but we can't take any chances, not since the Invaders."

"I can understand. You are simply trying to protect those you care for."

Chuck gave a sad smile to Fluttershy, showing she was right. Chuck then walked away in one direction, Fluttershy following him.

During the trip to the bridge, Fluttershy looked around with curiosity. She was amazed at the complexity of the ship, as well as the size of it. On the way, they came across kids about ten. One of them was wearing dog tags, but hey were definitely not his. Fluttershy made a mental note to herself to ask about the kids to Chuck.

As soon as they reached the bridge, Chuck barged in, startling several technicians.

"Captain on the... Bridge..." A young woman said as she saw Fluttershy walk on the bridge.

"Situation report." Chuck ordered.

"Like what was said in the message. But we finally know what we are up against. One of the smallest carrier of the Fed fleet."

Chuck nodded.

"Alright, listen up. I want a defense party to be formed quickly. They will be send on the surface to help protect the ponies and our exploration party. I will stay here and help coordinate everything. Crystal?"

"Yes?" The Fleet Command AI said as her holographic form appeared.

"Signal Shadow squad. It's their turn to shine. Mission is to support and protect drop zone. The primary objectives are to protect all human personnel and the pony population from any casualties. Destroy any enemy fighters in the zone."

"They are on their way, captain."

"Good. Oh, and by the way. This is Fluttershy. She is the official ambassador of Equestria, our newest ally."

Confused looks came from all directions, but they all knew better than to discuss Chuck's orders, especially when he was pissed.

* * *

Jax 'Tank' Gunner was preparing for the upcoming combat. He had black hair and light brown eyes. He was currently putting his armour on, a special plastic armour. Not the most resistant, but Jax was able to withstand a lot. He passed a hand through his military buzz cut hair. It was his first mission off of the ship, and he was a little nervous. Out of habit, his hand went to the dog tags around his neck. He had his, of course, but he also had his mother's. He smiled at the thought of his deceased mother.

Jax closed his locker and went to the armoury. He was one of the tallest person on the ship with a stunning 1m 98 and, combined with his 200 pounds of muscles, he often intimidated some of the most fearless soldiers on board with only his body. He looked at the technician who immediately recognized him and went for his gun of choice. The technician came back with a 200-round Light Banishment. He took the light machine gun with three additional ammunition belts and went to the ventral hangar where the defense crew would be.

When he got to the hangar, he saw five dozen men and women waiting near two R-3 Heavy PLTTs. He examined them and saw that they were all older than him, but none of them outranked him. There were a few private 2, but most were simple privates. The only other high ranked soldier was a private first class. He walked up to her.

"Can I talk to you?"

"Sure kiddo... Sergeant." The woman said as she turned around.

"We split in two teams. I take one and you take the other. My team will be team Light, and yours will be team Darkness. You go on one with your team, and I'll go on the other one with mine."

"Yes, sir."

"By the way, my name's Jax Gunner, not kiddo."

"Jennifer Donovan."

Jennifer then turned back to face the soldiers.

"Alright, little girls. Listen up. We'll split in two. One half will be under my command, the other under Jax's. Is that clear."

"YES MA'AM!" The soldiers chorused loud and clear.

Jax thought about his mother. Jennifer reminded him of her through her speech. He brought his attention back to the soldiers and he walked closer to Jennifer, standing in front of her.

"Okay. My team will be team Light, and Jennifer's will be team Darkness. Now split up and make this quick. We have people to defend and Feds to crush."

The men and women in front of Jax cheered. After two minutes, both teams were formed and equally organized. The boarded the R-3s and prepared for the bumpy ride to the drop zone.

* * *

Axle West woke up. He had hazel eyes and spiky black hair with brown highlights. His skin was dark brown due to his african american ancestors. His shades were resting on his lap. He took them and put them back on. His neck was stiff, as if he had slept in a chair.

He looked around to get his bearings when he remembered where he was. 'Crap.' He thought as he reached the controls. He tried to maneuver the fighter he had stolen, but the controls were stuck. A light then caught his attention.

On the screen of the fighter was a list of error codes and malfunctions. There were also alert codes. Suddenly, everything went off in the cockpit as the fighter began to shake. Axle looked out the canopy to see the front of the fighter become orange and red as the fighter slowly plunged into the atmosphere.

"Uncontrolled atmospheric entry. Great... Missing one thing, though. I should be unconscious."

The fighter then jerked, and Axle hit his head on the head rest of the seat, falling in unconsciousness. Images of what happened filled his unwanted slumber as the fighter continued to plunge towards the surface, headed for a small town with an apple orchard.

* * *

The R-3s hovered a few centimetres above the ground as the back door opened on the soldiers. They left their crammed space while the R-3s slowly landed. Soon, fifty-two men and women stood outside of the R-3s, looking at the ponies in front of them.

Jax activated his helmet's HUD. An updating message flashed for a few seconds before a bird's eye view map appeared in the upper left corner of his vision while a bullet count appeared in the upper right corner. An aiming reticule also appeared, pointing to where he aimed his gun. He tested the link by moving his gun from left to right a few times. Everything seemed fine and he spoke to the teams through the general com channel.

"Okay. Now, we guard this place and protect the personnel around the R-1. Is that clear?"

Lights blinked green as the men and woman from both teams answered that they understood. Jax turned around towards the R-1 and gestured to his team. They walked to it, team Darkness on their right.

"Everything is clear here. But something landed in the forest a few minutes ago." Lloyd told Jax, who nodded and spoke in the general com channel.

"Alright. We're going in that forest. We stay one hundred metres apart, and we swipe it until we find the ship that landed."

"We should keep the general channel open. We don't know what is in that forest. And don't waste bullets." Jennifer added.

Team Light and team Darkness then moved towards the forest, weapons ready to be used.

* * *

Chuck watched the tactical display show a map of the forest near the landing site. The fifty-two signals moved in an orderly fashion as they moved towards the forest. Fluttershy walked to him and nuzzled his hand to get his attention.

"What is going to happen?"

"Well, to be honest, they probably will shoot and kill the Feds that they encounter."

Fluttershy seemed to shrink. Chuck saw it and ut a reassuring hand on her head.

"Don't worry. It's been a long time since any of us on the ship even considered them of the same planet, or even human."

"What happened?"

"Almost thirty years ago, an alien species began to invade us. Soon enough, we humans got together and formed the Federation of Nations, the first real association of all the nations on Earth, our home planet. We fought with all of our might, more often than wanted sacrificing some of us. Eventually, we managed to salvage technologies and get them to work for us. We quickly out-powered them, and after fifteen years of war, we won. But for millions of people, that victory was a bitter one."

"Why?"

"Three years before the end of the war, the Federation's head began to act like tyrants. They ordered murders on those who opposed them. One year before the end of the war, they began to order some unit to kill other units who were sent on fake missions. They also ordered some units to kill the families of the executed. Two years after the end of the war, a lot of us had enough and we turned on them, splitting the fleet. Most of the fleet stayed loyal to the Federation, but I managed to get several ships to join my crew and the crew of another ship. Then we battled our new enemy, and after we evacuated millions of people from the planet, we left. We wandered for twelve years until we stumbled across your planet."

Chuck's voice was now emotional. Fluttershy flapped her wings, bringing her to Chuck's eye level. She wrapped her front hooves around him and hugged him.

"I can understand that your species well-being is important to you, but it happened long ago."

"It's not that. My wife was a scientist for the Federation. She worked on some top-secret projects. One day, one of the hotshot of the Federation walked in her office and threatened her to develop a mind control device. She refused and got shot in the head. Twice. That was in the last few months of the war against the Invaders. Then, my daughter's fighter got destroyed in the battle of the defection. The Federation took my family's life, and I am not the only one." Chuck said, tears rolling down on his cheeks.

Fluttershy hugged Chuck tighter. Several technicians sobbed silently as they remembered their loved ones that got killed because of the Federations. Some technicians also giggled at Fluttershy and their captain's antics. Fluttershy heard them and gave them The Stare, causing them to shrink in their chair and go back to their stations.

Suddenly, a chime brought Chuck out of his sadness. On the tactical display, a few red signals were ahead of the green signals.

* * *

"I've got enemy contact." Jennifer said on the general channel.

"Copy that. I can see them." Jax replied.

Suddenly, shots were fired towards team Light. Fortunately, no shot hit any of the soldiers. Jax gestured to his team to take cover. He himself dove behind a fallen tree trunk.

"Team Darkness, what's your situation?" Jax asked.

"We have hostiles on our left. they snuck in between us." Jennifer answered.

"Crap." Jax said as some of his men replied to the Feds' fire.

* * *

Corporal Joshua 'Longshot' Miller was silent as his squad, Shadow squad, progressed towards several enemy signals. He checked his weaponry for a fifth time. 'Okay... Primary twin energy cannons... Check. Backup twin low-energy cannons... Check. Secondary weapon... Missile bays... Check. Quantity of missiles... 15 in each. Good.' He thought.

Then, energy shots exploded near his Nightmare Mk 2. Joshua grinned as his finger pressed a little more on the primary cannons' trigger. Energy shots came out of the cannons and hit the fighter in front of hit, causing hit to blow up.

* * *

Jax gritted his teeth as bullets found their way to his soft skin. He fired back at the Feds that shot him, killing them.

"Some of them passed through!" Jennifer shouted over the channel.

Jax shook his head as he began to go back the way they came.

"Fall back! Meet at the drop zone!" Jax yelled on the channel, receiving green lights from everyone.

* * *

Richard was looking through the scope of his LDR-105, searching for the Feds that managed to pass the soldiers. He saw the head of a Fed, and he pressed the trigger. The bullet traveled all the way to the head, making a hole in the skull. The body fell the the ground.

Rosalie was making sure all the equipment was safe, as well as the scientists. John and Kyle were curled up in fetal position in the R-1 while Sarah took out a small handgun and took cover behind the crate. Lloyd and Burt were ducked on each side of the R-1, weapons ready to fire at any hostile. The royal guards had been sent to town where they were making sure all the ponies hid inside.

"Here they come..." Richard said as he shot another Fed.

Rosalie left the R-1 and went to hide behind the crate. Shots began to sound as Lloyd and Burt opened fire on the Feds, causing a barrage of bullets. The bullets claimed several lives and caused the remaining Feds to take cover.

"Where are those soldiers?" Richard said as he shot yet another Fed.

Then, gunshots came from the forest. The Feds shot back in the forest, but soon, soldiers in armour came out and killed every remaining Fed. They then proceeded to the R-1.

"Who is in charge?" Jennifer asked.

"Me." Lloyd said calmly.

"Okay. What are your orders?"

"Take positions and help us keep them at bay."

"Yes, sir."

Jennifer then gestured to her team, and they took positions on each side of the R-1. Rosalie took a look and saw that there was no more living Feds.

* * *

Joshua grinned as another fighter blew up. He still had his entire load of missiles, and he was still good for a long while. He did a barrel roll to avoid shots headed his way, and he fired at the fighter. The shots hit the fighter and it exploded in a sphere of debris. A light then came to life on the screen of his fighter.

"Shadow-leader, proceed to enemy carrier. Support is on the way."

"Roger that."

Joshua then increased the throttle to full speed and blasted towards the Federation carrier.

* * *

Jim watched in horror as the Federation units were killed one after the other. The plan had failed, and Jim had to leave the ship. Looking around to make sure no one was watching, he snuck away from the bridge. He took the least used hallways, hiding in the doorways whenever he thought he heard someone coming.

He was nearly at the escape pods when someone bumped into him.

"Watch where you're going." The young man, a technical sergeant, said.

He was around 28 of age. He had really short blonde hair and ice blue eyes. Jim could swear he had never seen him before. He turned around and walked to the man.

"I am first lieutenant. Show me some respect. And I don't think I ever saw you on the ship." Jim said, his hand slowly going to his handgun.

The technical sergeant saw him and un-holstered his own. It was an antique P99. The man aimed for Jim's head. Jim slowly raised his hands away from his handgun.

"And where are you going, sir?"

"None of your business."

Jim moved his hands to disarm the sergeant, but the sergeant was faster than him. Jim tripped and fell face first on the floor. Then, a chime came from his arm. The sergeant raised Jim's sleeve, exposing the communication device. Someone then spoke, the voice coming out of the device.

"Jim, you must leave their ship NOW! 'Cause I have the feeling you'll be compromised."

"Shit." Jim said, knowing full well that he was discovered.

The sergeant took handcuffs and put them around Jim's wrists. He lifted Jim off of the floor and brought him to the bridge.

"Captain, this man tried to flee using the escape pods."

Chuck turned around and grinned when he saw Jim.

"Jim. I knew something was wrong with you. And aren't you the phantom sergeant?"

The sergeant gulped, knowing he could no longer hide. He nodded.

"Name's Alek Halo, sir."

"Bring Jim to one of the detention cell." Chuck told Alek.

Alek nodded and brought Jim to the detention block.

* * *

Rosalie shot three bullets at the incoming Feds. She didn't take the time to see if any of her shots hit as she slid back to cover. She ejected the empty clip from her handgun and inserted a new one. 'Great... Almost out of bullets.' She thought. Sarah fired five bullets before going back to her hiding spot.

"Where did you learn to manipulate a firearm?" Rosalie asked

"Huh?"

Sarah looked at Rosalie with a puzzled expression. Rosalie pointed at the handgun Sarah was holding.

"Ah... My father insisted that me and my little sister learned how to use a gun. To defend ourselves. He was a military." Sarah explained.

Rosalie nodded and got up. She shot three Feds, killing them, then she ducked again. The automatic weapons were sounding all around, sending a barrage of bullets at the Feds. A shout then caught everyone's attention.

"FIRE!"

Then, shots came from the forest. The remaining Feds fell like flies hitting an electric fly trap. More soldiers came out of the forest. They ran to the R-1.

"All clear. The threat has been eliminated." Jax said, and Lloyd nodded, relieved.

"Continue to keep an eye out." Lloyd ordered.

"Yes, sir." Jax answered, and he gestured to his team to patrol near the tree line.

Rosalie stood up, and, for the first time, realised that the sun was setting. She smiled at the beauty of it when someone spoke.

"Beautiful, isn't it? Rebecca loved sunsets. She said it was angel's blood covering the sun to help protect us in times of need. She had a weird poetic mind."

Rosalie turned her head towards who had spoken. Sarah stood beside her, looking at the red sunset. Something then came across her mind.

"Rebecca? Are you talking about Rebecca Manning?"

Sarah gave a sad smile to Rosalie, her head not turning. She slowly nodded.

"Now, it's up to the guys up in space to finish the job." Burt said from the R-1's hold.

* * *

Joshua gritted his teeth has he dodged missiles. He hadn't expected some many fighters coming out of the carrier. He fired at one, causing it to explode. His squad was in the same trouble, being overwhelmed by the number of fighters.

He did another barrel roll when the fighter that shot at him exploded to pieces. Joshua looked up and saw Earth squad and Light squad coming to help them. Joshua smiled and went for the carrier itself, dodging enemy fire while activating the lock-on of the missiles.

"Shadow squad, this is Shadow-leader. Activate lock-on of the missiles and head for the carrier. We're taking it down."

The nine fighters in his squad immediately stopped fighting the fighters and went for the carrier as well. They quickly caught up on him, then they decreased their speed to match their leader's. 'Only one thousand two hundred metres before delivering the payload...' Joshua thought.

The distance shrunk quickly. When they reached the five hundred metres mark, the lock-on system engaged, and Joshua fired his entire load of missiles at the carrier. He pulled up and increased the throttle to put as much distance as possible between him and the carrier.

Shadow squad followed their leader away after emptying their loads of missiles. Small explosions were visible on the carrier where the missiles impacted, puncturing the hull. Soon, dozens of explosions happened at the same time, the fireballs caused by the air from the carrier getting bigger with each explosion.

* * *

In a matter of minutes, all the missiles hit, causing severe damage to the carrier. A hyperjump portal opened in front of the carrier, but as it began to move towards it, multiple explosions from inside the carrier ripped it open. The portal vanished as the explosions reached the carrier's hyperjump core.

Everyone on the bridge cheered at the destruction of the Federation carrier, but Chuck knew better. He always hated to take innocent enemy lives. Of course, some said that no enemy was innocent. But a life is life, and Chuck stuck to that, and even more since Rebecca's death. Fluttershy saw Chuck's saddened expression and tapped his back with a hoof.

"It was the right thing to do. If it got away, it would have come back eventually." Fluttershy said, trying to comfort Chuck.

"I know. I know."

* * *

The carrier exploded just after the sun had set, causing a fireball that could be seen all over Equestria. The soldiers cheered for their victory, happy that they were safe for now.

Rosalie looked at the night sky, amazed by the number of visible stars. She felt weird as the constellations she learned and knew were no longer visible in the sky. The moon itself was not the same, having little seas on the visible face.

Suddenly, something brilliant caught Rosalie's eye. It looked like a star, but as time passed, the thing grew in size and luminosity. Suddenly, she could see flames, and she realised that the thing was headed for them. She quickly got up, but she realised that it was too late.

The night lit up like day, the flaming fighter going over everyone's head in a roar of flames. It crashed a few hundred metres away from the R-1. The fighter's surface was entirely scorched, due to the atmospheric entry. The canopy was burnt and half-melted, preventing anyone from seeing anything. Rosalie went to the fighter as close as she could, the heat being too high for anyone to endure it.

They waited for a few minutes for the fighter to cool down. Once it had, Rosalie knocked on the canopy. When no answer came, she went in the R-1 and took a tool to pierce through the half-melted canopy. She drilled a hole in it, and she looked inside.

Axle was still unconscious, but also still alive thanks to the cooling system that was built in the cockpit in the event of such a thing. A few soldiers, as well as a few unicorn guards, helped her open the canopy to get Axle out of the burnt fighter. A unicorn guard hurried to the hospital, seeking a doctor. Rosalie and the soldiers set Axle down beside the fighter and waited for the doctor to arrive.

* * *

**Hope you enjoyed.**

**Alek Halo is owned by Rainbow Soar.**

**Jax 'Tank' Gunner is owned by TANK9811.**

**Axle West is owned by Rojack79.**


	4. Romance, broken mind and a party

**All OCs are owned by their respective creators. The lyrics for Prayer to the night are my own. Please PM me if you want to use this song in one of your stories, or if you wish to make a song with the lyrics.**

**Also, I want to say that I still need OCs, some keep them coming. I really appreciate your help.**

* * *

The doctor arrived as soon as possible, the guard just behind him. With the help of Sarah and Kyle, he managed to give a diagnostic of Axle's current state.

"He is in a really bad shape. He has a concussion, and several broken bones. He might also be in a coma, but I can't tell."

The doctor then poked Axle on the side, making him grunt.

"That is a good sign. He responds to external stimuli. He might need several weeks of rest before he is fully healed and able to stand again."

Sarah nodded. Axle then stirred, opening his eyes. He brought a hand to his face.

"Where are my shades?!" He asked.

"These shades?" Rosalie said as she stood against the R-1, a pair of black shades in one of her hand.

Axle nodded and Rosalie went to him and gave them back to him. Rosalie then noticed his uniform.

"Air force?" She asked.

Axle nodded, his sore neck cracking slightly.

"What's your name?"

"Sergeant first class West, Axle."

"Never heard of you. Where are you from?"

"He's in no condition to be interrogated!" The doctor protested.

Axle looked at the doctor, not understanding what he said. Rosalie ignored the doctor and carried on.

"Where are you from?"

"Tucson, Arizona."

"How old are you?"

"21."

"It's an awful long way from Tucson, isn't it?"

"Yeah... I stole a ship from the Federation base in Tucson, got chased by fighters, and first thing I realise, I'm falling towards a planet that is not Earth. Where am I?"

"You are on EQU-15."

"Equis?"

"That's probably the nickname the planet has by now."

Silence fell as Axle closed his eyes, trying to ease the pain.

"Is it possible to have a bed?"

Rosalie looked at the doctor.

"Should we move him?"

"Well, he has no neck injury, but I would recommend against it."

"Shockwave, we have a medical bed in the R-1." Bill said from the hold of the R-1.

"Bring it here."

"Wait... Shockwave? As in Rosalie Shockwave?"

"The name's Rosalie Petit. Shockwave's just a nickname."

Axle gritted his teeth as the pain reached a peak when he tried to turn on his side to take a look at Rosalie. Bill then arrived with the medical bed. He put it down beside Axle.

"Alright. Doctor, I want you to use your magic to keep his limbs stiff."

The doctor nodded and prepared the spell.

"We're moving you to the medical bed. Don't panic if you can't move you limbs."

Axle wanted to nodded, but Rosalie and Bill immediately took him off of the ground, the doctor's aura around Axle's limbs. The quickly set him down on the medical bed. Luna then came from Ponyville, followed by a few guards. She walked to the R-1.

"Who is in charge at the moment?"

"Me." Lloyd said.

"Our scientists finished analyzing all the information you gave us, and the information they gathered themselves. They went back to Canterlot."

"Okay."

"Well, then. I shall leave and go back to my duties."

As Luna turned around to walk back in town, Lloyd saw Axle.

"Wait, Princess. Could it be possible to take this man with you?" Lloyd said as he pointed at Axle.

"Why?"

"Well... He's injured, and we can't get him on board of the ship without proper clearance. And since the only ponies able to take care of him are in Canterlot..."

"I see what you me. Very well, then. Your demand shall be granted. Take him gently to the chariot. I will fly beside it."

"Yes, Princess." Some of the guards answered.

The guards gently lifted Axle and the medical bed off of the ground, and they took him to Ponyville to be then transported to Canterlot.

* * *

Captain's Log  
Year 12 of the Defection  
- It has been three local days since the attack by the Federation. For now, everything seems okay, but I wouldn't put it past Federation's policy to not plan something else. The prisoner we captured, first lieutenant Jim, is currently being interrogated. The phantom sergeant is also being interrogated, but he is not in custody. As for the crashed fighter, the landing party said they could not salvage any technology. They did salvage the fighter's log, and apparently it was used for hyperjump experiments. The famous hyperjump warp core that keeps malfunctioning...

* * *

Chuck saved his log entry. He was surprised how things were going. Relations between the Equestrian government and the humans were going smoothly. Fluttershy had taken has a personal challenge to befriend every child on board. And the funniest part was that she was doing well. 'And she's supposed to be shy... Well, I guess we do not really fit her definition of 'pony'... She really consider us like animals... Not that I disagree with her...' Chuck thought.

A light knock on the door of his quarters interrupted his train of thoughts. He pushed himself away from his desk and went to the door. He opened it, revealing Fluttershy.

"Fluttershy. So, how are you doing?"

"Oh, good. I really like it, and the kids are really happy to play with me. But, I miss my friends a lot..."

"Don't worry. I think we'll soon have a communication link between Ponyville and the ship."

Fluttershy seemed pleased by that and bid Chuck farewell.

* * *

Celestia walked to the door of a usually empty room of the castle. Said room was currently used to host an injured human. And Celestia loved to talk with him. She never realised how much she felt lonely, even though her sister was back.

She took a deep breath and knocked on the door.

"Come in."

Celestia opened the door. The human had been given a translator so he could easily inform the doctors of his current state... And about his more 'natural' needs.

Celestia walked in and closed the door behind her. The medical equipment attached to the human was not necessary, but the doctors had insisted on hooking him up, just to be safe they said. Celestia levitated a cushion and put it down beside the bed. She sat on it.

"Hey, Princess! Here to talk more?"

"Yes. I'd like to know more about you."

"Sure. Name's Axle West. I'm 21, and I'm from Tucson, Arizona, a city of the United States of America back on my home world, Earth."

Celestia giggled at Axle's antics. He could be cute when he explained where he was from.

"Are you okay, Princess?"

Celestia realised that her cheeks were burning. And that she was staring at him. She quickly glanced away from him.

"Yes. Yes, I am." She said quickly.

"If you say so... Where was I?"

"You were talking about your hometown."

"Yeah. Well, Tucson is a city in the desert. Y'know, with cacti and tumbleweeds... The whole shebang."

Celestia nodded.

"And what about you?"

"Well, I lived all my life in Tucson. Got drafted by the military, went to military school, graduated, did some stuff that got me to the rank of sergeant first class. Federation then decided that I was a threat to them, they locked me up, I escaped, stole a ship and crash landed here."

Celestia kept nodding. She already knew the story, but she loved to hear it from Axle. She began to blush.

"What about you, Princess?"

"Huh?"

"I mean, you've only listened to my not-so-interesting story. Now's your turn to tell me your story. Haven't heard one bit of it while you heard me story at least three times from me."

Celestia blushed more. She cleared her throat and began her story.

"I was born several millennia ago. In that time, alicorns were more common. I grew up happy with my little sister Luna. When we were a few millennia old, we had to defeat Discord. He had been causing chaos for a millennium too much. We searched for the Elements of harmony, and when we found them, Luna and I confronted Discord. We imprisoned him in stone. The ponies then got my sister and I to be their ruler, but since only one pony can have the title of queen, we decided to be Princesses instead. For a few millennia after that, Equestria prospered in a time of peace. Then, Luna began to grow cold and distant with me and our little ponies. She said that the ponies didn't enjoy her night as much as they should, sleeping through it and playing during the day. What she didn't realise was that not only was the day the moment where things could grow, but ponies are diurnal animals. Plus, she never realised that a lot of ponies enjoyed the night as it was peaceful and beautiful. Several painters found their inspiration in Luna's night sky. And the astronomers could only look at the planets and other celestial objects at night. And sailors used the night sky and the star to guide them back to their families. Even I prefer the night sky to the day sky. At night, everypony can be an artist and forget about the harsh realities of life. Eventually, she became Nightmare Moon, and I had to banish her. After her banishment, I did everything I could to honor Luna. I created a holiday for her, but it turned into something slightly ridiculous. I encouraged artists to paint and talk about the night sky, and I passed entire nights up only keeping the night sky as beautiful as Luna had made it, putting has much love in it as she did. During the thousand years of her banishment, I had several students, most of which became greedy for power. Then, I found Twilight Sparkle, and I could tell she was the ponification of the Element of Friendship, known to most as the Element of Magic. She managed to defeat Nightmare Moon and cleanse Luna. She then studied friendship in Ponyville, reporting to me every now and then when she had learned something. She then became an alicorn and a Princess, making me proud of her."

"I think I can understand what your sister went through. The night sky's a necklace of the most beautiful pearls in the whole wide world. Anything that beautiful must be admired and talked about. Too bad she never realised what luck she had to been recognized for that..."

"You really did that, Tia?" Luna asked as she walked to her sister.

Celestia almost jumped when she heard her sister. She got up, turned around and hugged her sister.

"I did, Lulu. I did. I always cared for you."

Luna broke the hug, a single tear rolling on her cheek. She had a sly smirk.

"Well, I am going to leave you alone with your coltfriend." Luna said as she left the room quickly.

"Thanks... Wait... He's not my coltfriend!" Celestia shouted at her running sister, her face almost entirely red.

Axle chuckled a little at Celestia's antics. He just realised how much she was like a plush... A cute plush...

"I wrote a song about the night once. It was a few years ago, when I was locked up. I call it 'Prayer to the night', and it goes like this, I think.

"_I look up at those brilliant stars,  
Beacons of hope in the mist of war.  
I look up to see my future  
Far away from these vultures._

_One day, I'll go away.  
Far away in your endless plains.  
Only so I can ease the pain  
Of being alone every day._

_Oh beautiful night, bringer of dreams,  
Show me the way with a star's beam.  
Please answer my prayer;  
Give me a new life and a lover..._

_Someday I'll reach a new world.  
I'm giving you my word;  
I'll make it cozy as home  
And trust me I won't be alone._

_I'll protect this world with my life  
With only the blade of my knife.  
I'll care for my lover with all my might,  
From sunset 'till daylight,  
To protect the one I love...  
From the dangers of the stars above._

_Oh beautiful night, bringer of dreams,  
Show me the way with a star's beam.  
Please answer my prayer;  
Give me a new life and a lover  
As beautiful as the moon and with stars in her eyes.  
I want her to love me without any lies._

_Answer my prayer, goddess of the night.  
I will serve you with all my might.  
All I want is a woman to love  
'Till the end of the singing dove._"

"That song was beautiful..." Celestia said.

"Well, I had a lot of time alone in that little cell..."

Celestia then caught Axle by surprise. She had leaned over him, careful not to press on his chest, and she put her lips against his. Axle cut the kiss abruptly.

"What the fuck?!"

"I am so sorry, I... I don't know what I thought... I will leave you now. I am sorry for that."

Celestia then left the room swiftly, trying to hide her blushing cheeks and her tearful eyes. Axle was blushing, the kiss Celestia gave him being his first real kiss.

"No. Wait, come back!" Axle yelled, but Celestia was already out of reach of his voice.

Luna then flew in through the open window, an angry glare falling on Axle.

"Why did you push her back? I have never seen my sister this happy before..."

* * *

Kyle was typing on the laptop he brought along with the equipment crate. He was writing a new theory about the evolution of dominant species, like the humans and the ponies of Equis. Someone then cleared their throat, causing Kyle to jump and turn around.

"Dr. Samson! I didn't hear you coming!"

"It's alright, Sanders. I'm just here to hear what you have to say about the animals you had the opportunity to study. That includes the ponies."

Kyle nodded as he took the laptop and showed the screen to Sarah.

"Well, this is only a first draft of a theory about the evolution of dominant species, but from my observations, I can say that the ponies of Equis are predators, just like us humans. Apparently, sometime in the past, they looked like normal ponies. However, at some point in their evolution, they developed cat-like attributes, including but not limited to forward-facing eyes, ears almost on the top of the head, prehensile tails, mane texture similar to fur and organized like human hair, and a sleeker and more elegant build. Also, their pupils seem to be vertical, however, it is mostly due to the shape of their eyes, which are taller than their width. I checked myself. Since they seem to have only one natural predator, the griffins, and because of the unique traits of the subspecies, they evolved to become dominant, along with the griffins."

Kyle took a short pause to breathe before resuming his rant.

"Speaking of the subspecies, I made some interesting discoveries. The standard ponies, despite having no wings or horn, managed to survive and thrive. This is probably due to their incredible strength, strength I got to witness first hand thanks to Miss Applejack. The Pegasus pony can fly, thanks to a lighter bone structure, highly developed muscles and a slightly more aerodynamic body. Moreover, they developed the ability to walk on clouds and control the weather. The Unicorn pony has a horn, yes, but it is unusual. Unlike normal horns or antlers, a unicorn's horn isn't made of enamel. Additionally, there are nerves in it, which means that a nervous shock can cause a magical outburst. Speaking of magic, the horn serves as a catalyst for their magic, enabling them the ability to 'shape' the magic in any spell they know. Their horns are also extremely pointy despite the fact that it looks rounded. And like bones, horns grow with their owner until they reach a certain length."

Kyle took another breath. As he opened his mouth to continue, Sarah lifted a hand to stop him.

"Thanks. I don't need to know everything."

Sarah turned around and walked away, leaving Kyle to his typing. Sarah adjusted the translator's position so it was more comfortable. She then realised that a unicorn was looking at the R-3s with wide eyes. That pony was clearly a male. He had a steel grey coat, light brown eyes and dark green mane and tail. Even though she tried not to look, Sarah saw what looked like a wooden measurement triangle on his rump.

She walked to him, clearing her throat to attract his attention. The stallion jumped at that and turned around to face her.

"Hi." She said. "I am doctor Sarah Samson. What's your name?"

"Wooden Angle. What are these?" The stallion asked as he pointed towards the R-3s with one hoof.

"Those are R-3 Heavy Planetary Lander and Troop Transport, HPLTT for short. Although we all call them PLTTs..."

Wooden Angle nodded. He looked at R-3s for a few more minutes before he spoke.

"Do you think I could see more technologies?"

"Why not? There is a man in that ship that can help you with that. He's a pilot, so he knows the technologies in the R-1 PLTT like the back of his hand... Or hoof, in your case." Sarah said as she pointed at the R-1.

Wooden Angle nodded and walked to the R-1, causing Bill to come out and begin the tour of the technologies of the R-1, having heard Sarah's proposal.

* * *

Jim was cuffed to the metal table in front of him, table that was welded on the floor. In front of him was a security officer. He was trying to get things out of him, but Jim received a special training. Normal interrogations had no effect on him, and torture was likely to kill him before he said anything.

The security officer slammed his fists against the table.

"Listen. You are accused of treason towards our fleet."

"Look who's talking. I am not a traitor; you, on the other hand, are one." Jim spat at the security officer.

The security officer growled in exasperation and left the interrogation room. 'That's the sixth. He lasted longer than the others...' Jim thought with a confident smirk. The door then opened on Chuck and his pony friend. They entered the interrogation room and Chuck sat down in front of Jim while the pony stood beside him.

"What do you plan to do now, Chuck? Kill me with hugs? Or maybe blind me with adorable-ness? HA! Try all you want, I am immune to those things."

"Actually, it is not what I plan. What I have in mind is not physical; it is entirely mental. Like a probe being slowly drilled in your brain repeatedly." Chuck said as he got up and leaned towards Jim's face. He then turned to the yellow pony. "I'll be in the hallway. Just scream when you want it to stop."

"It's not a good sign if you say that to your friend."

Chuck stopped in the doorway.

"I wasn't talking to her; I was talking to you." Chuck said, then he left, the door closing behind.

"Yeah... So... What's the plan?"

"You will kindly say everything."

"That's it?! He expects me to say everything, just like that?"

"It is not nice to doubt somepony's ideas. You should be ashamed of yourself, Mister." Fluttershy began, her eyes in a half-Stare.

"HA! HA! And she calls me 'mister'! That one's funny! Ha! Ha!" Jim laughed, his eyes closed at the moment.

"Stop laughing at me. It is not nice to laugh at others when they are just as good as you are, mister. And it is also not nice to not look somepony in the eyes when said somepony is talking." Fluttershy continued, her eyes now a complete Stare.

Jim stopped laughing and opened his eyes. He looked directly into Fluttershy's big, disapproving eyes. Something inside Jim snapped. He began to shrink in his chair, trying with all his might to stop looking in her eyes. Soon, he began to whimper, tears slowly rolling down his cheeks. Then, he got up and tried to run away, only to fall on his butt, his eyes still glued to Fluttershy's.

In the hallway, Chuck listened to what was happening inside the room through the ship's surveillance system. He snickered at Jim's antics when facing Fluttershy's Stare. Suddenly, Jim yelled for everything to stop. Chuck opened the door to see Fluttershy beside a crying Jim, trying to calm him.

"Please, get her away from me! I'll tell you everything, but please, get her away from me!" Jim sobbed.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to... When I use the Stare, it just keeps going. I am sorry." Fluttershy said as she left the room, the door closing behind her.

Chuck wore a victorious grin as he sat down.

"So, you're going to tell us everything, or do I have to call her back?"

"Yes. Yes, I'll tell you everything, but please, no more of those disapproving eyes..." Jim said, still sobbing.

* * *

"Good job, Fluttershy."

"Are you sure it was right?"

"Technically, this falls under 'torture'. However, in front of a tribunal, because there are no sings of bad treatment, it won't be considered torture and is then legal. It was either that, or we used the conventional torture."

"I see..."

"The worst that will happen to him now is that he might need several therapies to overcome a fear of yellow-coated pink-maned Pegasus ponies... And he might also start to act good..."

Fluttershy nodded slowly, still shocked she drove someone to tears with her Stare.

* * *

Twilight looked around the empty Town Hall. She was waiting for the mayor, but she was apparently unaware of her presence. She was about to leave when the mayor finally came.

"Oh! Princess Twilight! I didn't expect you to be here."

"Miss Mayor, I am here as a representative of Celestia and Luna. I am here to ask for permission."

"What kind of permission?"

"The humans want to build a communication station on top of Town Hall, it being the tallest building in Ponyville, and the central point of it as well."

"I don't see why not."

"Good."

Twilight turned around and went back outside where two Pegasi guards were waiting with a human. On the ground was a massive object with several antennas. Twilight nodded, and the human sat on one of the guards while they took the device off of the ground. They flew all the way to the top of Town Hall, and they put the device and the human down.

"Thanks."

The human then began to install the device, activating it and making sure it would not fall to the ground. Once everything was done, the human was brought to the ground by the guards, and they flew away to Canterlot while the human walked back to the R-1.

Twilight smiled as she levitated one of the communicator the landing party had brought with them. She activated it, and a hologram of a young woman came to life in the air over the device.

* * *

On the bridge of the _Redemption_, the communications technician on duty saw a blinking light signifying an incoming transmission on the control panel in front of her. She opened a channel and was surprised when she saw Twilight's face on the screen in front of her.

"Can you see me?" Twilight said in Equestrian, the communicator's internal computer translating what she said in English.

"Yes." The technician answered in English.

"I can't understand you. We don't speak the same language. And before you say anything about you understanding me, I was told that the communicator would instantly translate what I say. So just pass this message to Captain Charles Manning. The communication station has been installed successfully."

The technician nodded, knowing Twilight saw her hologram. The communication then ended, and the message was immediately transfered to Chuck.

* * *

Pinkie Pie had been busy. The humans had been on the planet for three days, and she still didn't throw them a 'Welcome to Equestria' party. She had been working for two whole days non-stop, trying to make sure everything was perfect.

"You're funny. My parties are always perfect." Pinkie said to the air above her head.

A balloon then passed by, catching Pinkie's attention.

"Oh! BALLOON!" Pinkie said as she bounced after the balloon, following it everywhere it went.

After a few seconds, Pinkie got tired of chasing the balloon and went back to the party preparations, completely forgetting about the narrator of the story who just broke the fourth wall.

"HA! YOU OWE ME FIVE BITS, MASTER!" Pinkie yelled to no one in particular, a hoof pointed directly above her.

Suddenly, five bits appeared on the counter with a note saying 'alright, you won. I can't believe you made the narrator break the fourth wall...' Then, Rainbow Dash flew in Sugarcube Corner. She saw the note and read it.

"Who is this 'The master of the game'?" RD asked.

"He's a good friend of mine. He just gave me five bits!"

"Why would he give you five bits?"

"Because he lost the bet!" Pinkie answered in a sing-song voice.

"What bet?" RD inquired, worried for her friend's sanity.

"TheoneweonwetherornotIwouldbeabletomakethenarratorofthestorybreakthefourthwall. And I won!" Pinkie said happily.

"...Okay..." RD said as she put down the note beside the bits. "So, you needed me for what?"

"Oh, I almost forgot! Thanks, Dashie."

Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes.

"I need you to help me make a super-duper-hyper-mega cake shaped like one of those wingless thingy."

"That's it?"

Pinkie nodded cheerfully.

"Is it for their welcome party? Or for their victory party?"

"For their welcome party, silly. The cake for their victory party is shaped like the big guy's big gun... I think his name is Jax..." Pinkie said.

Rainbow Dash nodded and flew in the kitchen to start the cake preparation while the pink party pony named Pinkie Pie continued to throw streamers in random directions.

"Pink party pony named Pinkie Pie... Hihihi..." Pinkie said.

* * *

The sun had set about an hour ago. Loud music was coming from Sugarcube Corner. Some human soldiers had walked in with bottles in their hands, bringing alcohol to the party. They also got Applejack to bring some hard cider.

The party was in full motion, and Jax was leaning against the counter. He had fun, but everything was getting repetitive. Pinkie then pinned the tail on the pony in the right place on her first try for the umpteenth time. Rainbow Dash then flew to Jax, visibly bored.

"Hey." She said. She then noticed Jax's tattoo on his upper left arm. "What does that mean? Is that like a cutie mark?"

Jax looked at his tattoo. It was a flowing American flag, with some writing right under it.

"It's the flag of my native country back on Earth. The writing under the flag means 'God bless America'."

"It's cool. It could be twenty percent cooler, though." She said before having an idea. "Want to do a drinking contest?"

"What's the legal age here?"

"Eighteen."

"Alright. I'm in."

"What's up?" Jennifer asked Jax and Rainbow Dash.

"Me." RD answered with a cocky grin.

"We're going to do a drinking contest." Jax said.

"Can I participate?"

"Sure. Hey, AJ, wanna participate in our drinking contest?"

Applejack nodded, and after setting a table with shot glasses and alcohol, the four contestants sat down, humans on one side and ponies on the other.

Twilight stood beside the table, ready to keep track of the numbers of shots each one drank. In front of each contestants were currently five shots filled with the Apple Family's hard cider. Jax and Jennifer each took one shot and drank, putting them down with force, all of that in perfect sync.

Applejack frowned when she realised the humans seemed to be unaffected by her family's hard cider. She took a shot and drank it, putting it down with slightly more force than the humans. Rainbow Dash did the same.

And so were consumed the first five shots, with no side seeming to weaken. The four drank five more shots, then five more. At this point, Rainbow Dash was already showing signs of being drunk. Applejack was barely affected, and the humans showed no signs whatsoever.

"I thINk I wiLl cALl iT A NigHT." Rainbow Dash said before falling to the ground, snoring.

"Rainbow Dash is out." Twilight declared, and bets began to be made between ponies and humans on who the winner would be.

"What's the alcohol content of your hard cider?" Jax asked.

"Well, Ah think it is around thirty parts alcohol fer one hundred parts alcohol-free apple cider."

"We have something harder. Tequila. About 50 parts alcohol for one hundred parts tequila." Jennifer said with a grin, which made every humans smirk. Some even modified their bets.

A soldier took a full bottle of tequila 50% ABV (87.5 proof) and gave it to Twilight. Twilight opened the bottle and poured a shot for everyone of the remaining contestant. Jennifer was the first to down her shot. She slammed the glass on the table, making a face as the hard alcohol went in her stomach. She grinned, then she suddenly fell to the ground, snoring as loud as Rainbow Dash. Several sighs came from the soldiers that lost their bets.

Jax looked at Applejack who nodded. They downed their respective shots and slammed them on the table, both of them making faces as the alcohol rushed down their throat.

"Whoo. That stuff's powerful." AJ said, feeling the burning sensation the tequila left in her throat.

Jax nodded as Twilight poured four more shots for each. They drank another one, then a second, then a third. Both had drunk nineteen shots, and both seemed to have the same effects. They drank their twentieth shot, and slammed it on the table. Twilight poured a new round of five shots each.

Jax was starting to feel dizzy, and so was Applejack. Both didn't talk, not trusting their voices. The drank a twenty-first shot and slammed the empty glass on the table. Both took a new glass, but none drank. They only stared at each other. The effects of the alcohol then kicked in.

As Applejack approached the shot glass to her muzzle, she almost fell to the ground. She caught herself on the table before going back to a more natural posture. 'Damn... That stuff's WAY too powerful fer me! One more shot, and Ah can kiss tha victory goodbye.' Applejack thought. A loud clank sounded in front of her as Jax had slammed another empty glass on the table. 'He's in tha lead now. Come on, Applejack. Ya can do it.' She gulped and downed the shot, slamming the glass as quickly as possible on the table.

Jax took a new glass, but didn't drink it. 'She's good. One more shot, and I'm down.' He thought. Applejack slammed an empty glass on the table, hardly keeping the hard alcohol inside. Jax downed the shot he had in his hand, slamming the empty glass on the table.

Both took and downed another shot, slamming the empty glass on the table. Then began a waiting game. Applejack swayed back and forth, her vision blurry. She fell to the ground, unable to stand but still conscious, but barely. Cheers came from the human soldiers as they celebrated the victory of one of their own.

Twilight then waved a hoof in Jax's face, getting no reaction. Jax then fell to the ground, fast asleep.

"ThAt MeAnsh Ah WOn!" AJ declared.

"Are you able to stand?" Twilight asked.

Applejack tried to get up, but was not able to. She helped herself up with the table, but as she tried to grab one more shot, her hoof bumped with the glass and it fell to the ground. Applejack then passed out.

"Who's the winner, then?" A soldier asked.

"Both Jax and Applejack drank the same number of shots. However, Applejack was technically conscious for a longer time. But usually, it is the one that drinks the most that wins. Hard one." Twilight said.

Everyone waited for Twilight to come up with the winner's name. After several minutes of thinking, and checking in the Official Rules of Drinking Contests book that Twilight conveniently had brought with her, she finally spoke.

"According to the official rules, 'when two ponies drank the same number of shots and are both unable to continue drinking, the winner is the pony that stayed awake the longest. However, as most of the time there are no stopwatch near drinking contests, this condition for winning applies only if one of the remaining ponies falls unconscious soon after drinking the last shot.' Under this condition, Applejack is the winner of the drinking contest."

"YAY!" Pinkie Pie said.

The money of the bets was transferred to the winners of those, and everyone went back to their beds. Twilight levitated Rainbow Dash while Applejack and Jennifer where lifted by Sarah and Bill. Jax got lifted by three soldiers. They then left Sugarcube Corner.

"That 'tequila' stuff sure was strong. When I opened the bottle, the scent of alcohol was almost strong enough to dissolve my fur!" Twilight said as they walked towards the library, which was on the same way as Sweet Apple Acres and the landing site.

"It is one of the strongest alcohols of Earth." Sarah said, Jennifer's arm around her neck and her own arm under Jennifer's other arm.

"And you humans sure are able to withstand a lot of alcohol." Twilight added.

"What makes you say that?" Bill asked, Applejack swung across his neck, her legs on each sides of his head.

"Applejack is one of the ponies that tolerates alcohol the best. After all, she has to test every batch of alcohol they make."

"Good point." Bill conceded.

"See you tomorrow!" Twilight said as she entered the library.

After wishing good night to Twilight, the humans walked back to the landing site, where several tents were set. Bill kept going and brought Applejack to her family. He came back and went in the R-1 where he fell asleep quickly.

Sarah was the last one awake. She looked up at the night sky, memories of parties with Rebecca where she would always get into drinking contests and need to be carried back home.

"I miss you, little sister..." Sarah whispered.

Sarah then closed her eyes and slowly drifted to sleep.

* * *

**The system used in Equestria to give the alcohol content of beverages is ABV, only given in a different form.**

**Wooden Angle is owned by MysteryAgain.**


	5. Adoption and progression

**Hey there! Enjoy this new chapter. Like always, OCs are owned by their respective creators.**

* * *

"The area has almost been entirely cleared. We're almost ready to move on to the next area."

Fluttershy was standing on the bridge, listening to the communication between the ship and the salvage crew. As she herself found out, after every battle, the humans sent salvage crews to clean the areas where ships had been destroyed, the materials obtained being used in repairs on the ship and the support vessels.

She turned around, ready to leave the bridge, when a technician talked to her.

"Uh, Miss?"

Fluttershy turned around to face the young man. She was still surprised she could understand the humans without any translator device.

"Yes?"

"Two things. First, I would like to thank you for what you did with the kids. My little sister keeps talking about you. Second, the Captain wishes to see you in his quarters."

"Sure. And for the kids, I just can't help myself. They're just so cute."

The technician chuckled as Fluttershy left the bridge, a smile on her face. It had been hard to adapt. It also had been hard to leave her animal friends, but she was glad to have come on the ship. Besides, she was the most competent pony for the job at the moment.

Fluttershy walked through the hallways to Chuck's room, greeting those she passed on her way. She turned a corner and came in face of Chuck.

"What a coincidence. I want to talk to you."

"About what?"

"I have been asked if you could take care of the kids and help at the school."

"I would love to. Besides, I don't have that many duties right now, and it tends to be lonely in the hallways when you walk around."

Chuck nodded and pushed a few buttons on his command bracelet. Fluttershy bowed slightly, and began to walk towards the central parts of the ship, where the school and the 'farms' were.

"Hey, look!"

Fluttershy turned around and smiled seeing the group of kids running towards her. They ranged from nine to thirteen in age, both boys and girls.

"FLUTTERSHY!" Several of the younger kids yelled as they jumped on her.

One of the oldest, a boy aged twelve, walked to Fluttershy.

"It's not nice to jump on people." He said.

"But she's a pony!" A young girl pleaded with sad puppy eyes.

Fluttershy giggled at their antics.

"I'm glad to see you too." She said as she hugged the girl, making her giggle.

"KIDS! PLEASE COME BACK!" A woman called from somewhere nearby.

The oldest of the group, a girl aged thirteen, sighed as she turned around to face the direction from which the voice came.

"Here!" She said.

A woman nearing her thirties turned a corner, and upon seeing the kids with Fluttershy, let out a sigh of relief. She was quite tall. Her eyes were a light brown and showed care. Her dark blonde hair stopped just above her kidneys. She wore big round glasses, a brown skirt that stopped at her knees and a white knitted shirt with sleeves too long for her. All of that made her look like a teacher.

She ran to Fluttershy.

"Thank goodness you're here."

"Are you the one that asked for help?"

At that statement, the oldest girl sighed once more.

"Yes. My name is Johann Stiller. I am in charge of teaching those kids, and mostly to look after them."

"Yeah, more like keep us in prison." The oldest girl of the group said before walking away.

"Katrina! Where are you going?"

"My room. Not that anyones care."

The girl, apparently named 'Katrina', turned around a corner. Fluttershy looked at Johann.

"Is she always like that?"

"Unfortunately, yes. I've tried everything from therapy to granting her access to the firing range... I don't know what to do..."

"Oh... Maybe I could help..."

"Maybe, maybe not... You know what, I will leave her in your care while I finish what we were doing here, okay?"

"AWWWWWW!"

Fluttershy giggled at the children's antics and nodded. She flapped her wings and went after Katrina.

* * *

Katrina locked the door of her room and threw herself on her bed, face in her pillow. On the way to her room tears had begun to roll down her cheeks. She hated when it happened. She softly cried in her pillow, oblivious of the faint knocking on her door.

Fluttershy stopped knocking, full aware that her usual weak knock would go unnoticed. She pressed the chime button on the panel beside the room's door. Katrina raised her head from her pillow, her cheeks wet from her crying.

"Go away. I don't want to talk to anyone!" Katrina yelled between sobs.

"If you don't want to talk to me then I'll go." Fluttershy said as she turned around and began to walk away.

Katrina quickly got up and opened her door, going into the hallway.

"Wait..." She said, causing Fluttershy to turn around and walk back to Katrina.

"Can I come in?" Fluttershy asked.

"Uh... Sure..."

Katrina went back in her room, Fluttershy following her. The door closed and Katrina locked it. Fluttershy sat down on the floor facing Katrina who was still standing. Katrina was quite tall for her age. She had curly light brown hair with blonde highlights and it went to the middle of her back. Her eyes a blueish grey. Around her neck were dog tags. She was wearing a leather jacket on top of a black t-shirt, a denim jeans with holes where the knees were and a pair black boots. She also wore black finger-less gloves.

"So... Whaddaya want?" Katrina asked, interrupting Fluttershy's train of thoughts.

"Um... I just want to talk with you. Get to know you better..."

"Yeah, right... Like they would care, all of a sudden... I mean, for the fucking eight years I remember of my life, no one has ever given damn fuck about me and what happened to me."

"Oh, um... What happened?"

"Like you don't know already. You're what, twenty-something?"

"You probably don't realise, but I don't speak the same language as you right now."

Katrina opened her mouth to reply to what she thought was nonsense when it all hit her. What she understood the pony, that she mistook for a hologram, say didn't match her lips. Katrina drew her desk's chair and slumped on it.

She took a deep breath. Tears slowly began to roll down her cheeks again.

"Crap... Not again..." She muttered to herself as she resumed crying.

"Just tell me what happened." Fluttershy said as gently as possible.

"Both my parents were pilots. And both were killed twelve years ago. I'm the only kid on this ship that lost both parents. I don't remember anything about my dad, but I remember one thing about my mom. She was kind and caring, a sweet person that would stand up for her friends and family but that was extremely shy and some kind of a pushover. People say that I look like her. Which only hurts more. I keep her dog tags, and a picture of her, so I can remember her when she was happy."

Fluttershy gave Katrina a small sad smile. She got up and went to Katrina. She hugged her, startling Katrina.

"Foals should never have to never know their parents. And if things like that happen, the foals should not be left alone. They should be given love, and understanding."

"For the understanding part I got plenty, with most of the soldiers having lost kids to the Invasion war. For the love part, though, it's another story. I always felt like I was just an additional mouth to feed, that everyone would have been better off without me around. I lived a crap life, with no friends and no love. I wish I had a mom that is alive..." Katrina said, not realising she was showing her weak side and dropping the shell she took eight years to build, the tomboyish-girl-that-is-the-tough-guy-around.

Fluttershy rubbed Katrina's back. 'This poor girl's mom sounded like me in a way... I really want to do something for her, but what? Unless...' She thought.

"Katrina, what is your last name?"

"I don't know. No one ever told me what my last name was. Why do you ask?"

"Um... Curiosity?"

"Likely... Why did you ask?"

"Well, um..."

Then, a chime sounded in Katrina's room.

"Fluttershy, the captain wishes to see you. Please report to the bridge immediately."

Fluttershy let out a breath she didn't knew she was holding. She went to the control panel and pushed a button, but nothing happened. Katrina got up and called the bridge for Fluttershy.

"Yes?"

"Um... This is Fluttershy, um... The captain wants to talk to me?"

"Yes. One moment please."

After a few minutes, the technician spoke again.

"Fluttershy, go to the local communication station. It is in the same hallway as the room you're currently in. Just turn left when you enter the hallway."

The communication ended. Katrina opened the door, and Fluttershy walked out and turned left. She reached the communication station after two minutes of walking. The door opened and Fluttershy walked in. A hologram then came to life.

"Miss Fluttershy, the captain is waiting for your call." The AI said.

Fluttershy went to the console and initiated a communication. The face of Chuck then appeared on the screen.

"Fluttershy. Johann told me you tried to talk with Katrina. Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, thank you. What happened to her is terrible."

"She didn't attack you?"

"No. She is a fine girl."

"Odd... Usually, she takes her knife out and stabs anyone that tries to talk to her. Like a predator."

"Well, I have a bear at home. I know how to deal with animals. She was simply acting like a scared and injured animal."

"Thanks for taking care of her."

"Speaking of her, I want to know her last name."

"She has none. Her parents never told anyone her last name. Why do you want to know that?"

"For adoption."

"What?"

"I'd like to adopt her."

"Okay. Just need your signature and your fingerprints... Hoof prints in your case, sorry."

A panel slid open, revealing a glass surface.

"Just put your front hooves on the glass and wait a few seconds. One hoof at a time."

Fluttershy did what she was told. On the screen, beside Chuck's face, appeared two scans of her hooves, showing everything that could help identify her.

"Now sign the touch screen with the stylus."

Fluttershy took the stylus from the console and signed her name on the touch screen in front of her.

"Alright. Your now officially Katrina's mother. I hope it will help her."

Fluttershy nodded and Chuck ended the transmission. Fluttershy went back to Katrina's room and knock on the door, a little louder this time.

"Katrina, it's me, Fluttershy. I have something to tell you."

The door slid open, showing Katrina standing in the hallway, blocking the way.

"Yeah?"

"Can I come in?"

"Sure."

Katrina stepped aside, and Fluttershy walked in. Katrina looked on each side of the hallway, then she closed and locked her door.

"What did the captain what to talk about?"

"He wanted to know if I was okay. Why did you attack people?"

"Because they tried to get me away from the few memories I have of my mom. They tried to make me forget."

Suddenly, a loud knock on the door made Fluttershy jump. Katrina reached for something in her right back pocket. She kept her arm behind her back.

"UNLOCK THE DOOR!"

"What do you want this time?"

"Unlock the door, Katrina, or we bust in."

"Just try."

Fluttershy knew exactly what was happening and what would happen. She quickly hid behind Katrina's bed, her head poking out to see what happened.

The door then slid open on three men. Two of them wore heavy armour and had weapons aimed at Katrina. The third man was wearing a black uniform typical of the highly ranked security officers. The security officer stepped in.

"It's time to go, Katrina." The man said as he reached for Katrina's arm that was still to her said.

The man grabbed her, and applied force to hurt her. The man had an evil grin on, and seemed to enjoy hurting her. Katrina then moved her right arm and stabbed the man's arm that was holding her. She kept the knife in hand, pointing at each man in a motion that clearly warned them not to approach her.

"We've already went through this, sweetie. Now drop the knife and let go of what happened to your parents."

"NO!"

Katrina jumped on the man, stabbing his shoulder. One of the two men in armour then raised his gun and shot once, hitting Katrina in the guts. She fell to the ground, bleeding heavily. Her knife, which had the words 'Remember us, Katrina' engraved in the blade, fell a few feet away from her. The man in the black uniform then took the knife, and tossed it away. He was clearly pissed.

"Alright. Bring her to the detention block."

Fluttershy chose that moment to get out of her hiding.

"No, you won't. She needs to be brought to the medical bay."

"Why do you even care about her? She attacked several officers, and her place is in a containment cell, away from all of those bad influences she calls memories."

"I care about her because she needs to be cared about. I care about her because she only defends herself in what she considers a hostile environment. I care for her because she's my daughter."

By that time, Fluttershy had flown all the way to the security officer. Katrina was looking at Fluttershy with a mixture of a smile and pain.

"You're a pony! You can't be her mom!"

"I adopted her. And if you don't believe me, ask the captain."

The man gulped and left the room. The armoured men followed him. Fluttershy went to her adopted daughter.

"Thanks..." Katrina struggled to say.

Several men and women then came to the room, having heard the gunshot. One of them called the medical bay, and a medical team was dispatched to Katrina's room. She was taken to the medical bay where they removed the bullet from her guts. Fluttershy waited for Katrina to wake up by packing the girl's things, including the blood-stained knife. She brought the bags with her to the medical bay where Katrina was now awake after several hours of resting.

"What's in the bags?" Katrina asked as Fluttershy entered the recovery room.

"Your things."

"Why would you... Wait... You REALLY adopted me?!"

"Yes, and I would be happy if you came and lived with me."

Katrina began to cry again, but for the first time in eight years, the tears she shed were tears of happiness. Fluttershy smiled softly at her adopted daughter. Someone then knocked on the open door, one of the few conventional on-hinges door. Fluttershy turned around and saw Chuck.

"Are you sure you want to go back on the planet now?"

"Yes. For the sake of my new daughter."

"I know what you mean. I hope I'll see you again someday." Chuck said as he hugged Fluttershy. "Celestia has been informed of your return by Twilight. They'll be expecting you down there."

Fluttershy hugged Chuck back.

* * *

The R-1 that would take them back on the surface was a special modification. It was used to transport those that needed medical attention, like Katrina. The R-1 MT (medical transport) could hold two medical beds side by side. Or a medical bed and a pony, with two bags of things and the medical equipment needed to monitor Katrina.

Fluttershy was sitting beside Katrina. They were waiting for the atmospheric entry, but according to the pilot, it would not be happening for another six hours at least.

"So, what's my last name gonna be?" Katrina asked, sitting in the medical bed.

The doctor that had been sent to monitor Katrina for the next week on the planet to make sure she was safe was standing in the doorway of the cockpit, wearing a pissed expression. He had asked Katrina to stay on her back, but she didn't listen. At least she wasn't trying to cut him open with a scalpel.

"Well, I don't really have a last name myself... But, I could try to think of something." Fluttershy said. "Speaking of my name, my friends often just call me 'Shy' and..."

"And what?"

"That's your last name."

"Katrina Shy... I like it."

They kept talking for the entire six hours of wait before atmospheric entry. Katrina even tried to speak Equestrian, which led to laughter from Fluttershy. They had tried to get the teacher to sign the acceptation form for knowledge implantation, which didn't describe the procedure at all as it was more of a fast learning device. So for now, Katrina had to wear the translator.

* * *

Twilight was excited. As soon as she saw the R-1 MT fly above Ponyville, she immediately went to the landing site, which was now better organized. After all, the humans had been in Ponyville for twelve days now, and the relationship between the humans and the ponies gave encouraging signs. Eventually, the humans might even be allowed to live in Equestria like the ponies.

Fluttershy walked down the ramp with two bags on her back. She quickly cleared what was referred to as 'the tarmac', a quite large area of burnt dirt and grass, and went to Twilight.

"Fluttershy!"

Twilight hugged her friend and fellow Element of Harmony.

"I have somebody to introduce you to."

"You were on the human ship for too long. You speak like them."

Then, a medical bed was carried out of the medical R-1. On it was Katrina, who was currently asleep. The doctor followed shortly and walked to Fluttershy.

"We need to hurry and get her to your home."

"She will be fine." Fluttershy said to the doctor.

Just then, Katrina woke up, and seeing she was carried away from Fluttershy, she yelled.

"MOM!"

"Katrina! Sirs, bring her here, if that's okay with you."

The two soldiers carrying the medical bay kept going, only to stop when they were behind Twilight. Katrina now had a smile on her face.

"Twilight, I want you to meet Katrina. I adopted her."

You WHAT?!" Twilight said, not processing the information.

"She needed a family that would give her love. And I thought that I could give her the love she needs, with the help of my friends of course. Also, her biological mother had a similar personality to mine."

Twilight nodded slowly. She turned around and smiled at Katrina.

"Hi. I'm Twilight Sparkle, a friend of your mother. How old are you?"

"Thirteen, Miss Sparkle."

Twilight face hoofed. 'Let's just hope she doesn't try to befriend the Cutie Mark Crusaders.' She thought.

"Fluttershy, do you want me to teleport you to your cottage?"

"Only if you think you can teleport all of us and the medical equipment."

With that, Twilight teleported them to Fluttershy's cottage.

* * *

Sarah rubbed her eyes as she looked up from her laptop. From what she could tell with the samples she had, the ponies had similar illnesses to humans, which meant that the humans would not cause death by bringing germs. In fact, it was more likely that the germs get destroyed by those native to Equis, as they were far more resistant to environment.

John was sitting on the ground near her, also working on a laptop. He was currently monitoring the energy levels of the planet. They were higher than Earth's which would explain the unicorns' magic. And from what he could see, it was the geology of the planet that was responsible for that.

Sarah got up and walked around a little. She reached in her pocket for her communicator, and she took it. She sent a message to the ship saying that quarantine was no longer necessary as per the orders of Doctor Sarah Samson. She put the communicator back in her pocket. Everything was going smoothly since the attack of the Federation. But she knew it was not over, and that the ponies needed to be ready to face the technology used by the Federation.

What was illegal to use on Earth was commonly used by the Federation as a way to threaten other species. She was well aware of the Federations tactics of bullying ever since her sister was killed by the Federation. Sarah shook her head to chase those thoughts away. She went back to her laptop and resumed working.

"This is even better than what I had expected!" Kyle said from his tent, causing everyone to look at his tent.

Sarah got up and went to the tent.

"What is this all about?"

"Humans and ponies have similar DNA."

"And?"

"The DNA of both species is so close that reproduction is possible. And the offspring of such relations have high chance of being viable! Can you imagine? This is the greatest discovery ever! A species that can have offsprings with humans without either causing major malformations that eventually leads to death or making them sterile!"

"Calm down, Kyle. We can't know for sure there won't be any malformation or hybridization. The recorded cases of 'major malformations' are only cases of incompatible hybridization."

Kyle nodded.

"But still! I am so excited about this, I need to yell it!"

"Don't"

Kyle nodded as he calmed down. Sarah left the tent and went back to her laptop to continue her work.

* * *

"Tia, let me in." Luna said for the umpteenth time.

"He doesn't want me, so why should I go back?"

"I only want to talk to you."

The doorknob turned and the door opened. Luna entered the room and sat down beside her sister.

"I spoke with Axle. He didn't want to push you away. He was just surprised by your sudden kiss."

"Really?"

Luna nodded as she gave her sister a wing hug. Celestia smiled and hugged Luna back.

"Thank you, Lulu."

"It was nothing."

"I will go and apologize to him."

Celestia left the room, leaving a smirking Luna alone.

"They would make such a cute couple." Luna said as she left the room as well.

* * *

Chuck was sitting at his desk, reading the report of the crash. The pilot, a certain Axle West, had only a concussion and a few broken ribs.

Chuck threw the report down on his desk. If what Rosalie had managed to get from Axle, the guy should have been dead. The atmospheric entry had happened a long time after the hyperjump warp signature had been picked. Which meant the fighter had skipped across the atmosphere several times, and the change in direction was sudden enough to knock any pilot unconscious.

Also, the wreckage of the fighter was entirely burnt, which meant that inside the cockpit, even with the cooling system, the heat would have been unbearable. And the data recorder showed high peaks and sudden changes in the gravitational force applied to the fighter.

A chime brought Chuck back to reality. In the old data base of the Federation, that hasn't been updated in twelve years, there was a mention of an Axle West in Tucson, Arizona, but he was nine and had no rank. But the kid had been through the super-soldier training, just like Jenny had.

Soldiers and pilots that took the super-soldier training were never aware of it. They went through an almost impossible training, and they were given several augmentation that included strength, speed, agility, accelerated recovery from injuries and mental abilities like strategy. At least he ran away from the Feds, which meant that his subconscious self knew what he went through.

Chuck crossed his fingers. 'Let's hope he stays on our side... And let's hope Katrina learns to control her own strength, for Fluttershy's sake...' He thought.

* * *

Federation of Nations Space  
Earth

Federation HQ  
Québec City  
06:53 UTC-05:00

A man walked down a corridor. He was heading for the head's office to report on the location of the _Redemption_. He knocked on the door, and said door opened. The man walked in the dark room.

When he reached a certain spot, a light opened, cascading on him. There were also small lights behind each of the head members, twelve in total. The man gulped.

"What are you waiting for?" A masculine voice asked, deepened by a computer program.

"One of our carrier found the ship in uncharted territories. However, it was destroyed before it could either send the coordinates or jump back to Earth. Apparently, test subject Axle West crashed on that same planet. And Katrina has been adopted by one of the locals."

"It seems Chuck managed to create some relations between his crew and the locals. But sending one of the sleeping super-soldier on the planet in the care of a local... That's a little dumb, even for him." A feminine voice stated, also deepened electronically.

"Do not underestimate him. He must have a plan." The first voice replied. "Send orders to the ships of fleet beta. Tell them to go to the last known coordinates of our destroyed carrier."

"Yes, sir."

The man then left the room, glad that it was over. As soon as he was out, he sent the orders, and headed for a bar in the old city for a drink.

* * *

Fluttershy was carrying a tray with a glass of milk and some homemade cookies for Katrina. She had been in her cottage for a day now, and she was already fully healed and no longer hooked to the monitoring equipment. However, the doctor had insisted upon keeping her in bed for one more day. In the mean time, she would need some something to sustain her and give her enough energy.

Fluttershy opened the door of Katrina's new room and saw the girl up on her bed. She had already decorated her room the same way it was on the ship; a soldier had brought what Fluttershy didn't take when she packed Katrina's things. Upon seeing her adoptive mother in her room, Katrina dropped on her back and faked being asleep, not fooling Fluttershy who saw her.

"I know you where up on the bed, miss."

"But I'm okay! I'm already healed! I always heal quickly." Katrina said with a cute pout.

"You're cute when you pout like that. And I brought you cookies."

Upon hearing the c word, Katrina's face lit up. She turned her face towards Fluttershy who put the tray down on the bedside table. She sat on the bed and hugged Katrina.

"I know that you are healed. But it is to be safe. I don't want to see you die."

As Katrina reached the tray to take a cookie, her mother's dog tags clicked together.

"I never had a mother figure. I always turned to my mom's picture and dog tags. But now, I got you, and I'm sure it's my mom's will that you adopted me. I love you mom, and mom." Katrina said as she hugged Fluttershy back, a cookie in her hand.

She then put the cookie in her mouth, causing Fluttershy to frown, which made Katrina laugh, in turn making Fluttershy laugh.

"Fluttershy, are you alright?" A feminine voice with a mid-atlantic upper-classy accent asked from the living room.

"Um... Yes, Rarity. I'm up here in my daughter's room."

There was a gasp, and a few second later, Rarity stood in the doorway of Katrina's room. The girl, startled by Rarity's sprint, was hiding behind Fluttershy.

"I heard Twilight say you had adopted a human girl, darling, but I didn't believe her. She is adorable trying to hide behind you. How old is she?"

"Thirteen."

"Oh. Keep her away from my sister. She must not be dragged into their schemes." Rarity said. "I was going to ask you if you were coming to our weekly get-together, but you clearly won't. But maybe we can still have our little talk... What if I made her a new outfit? And a new hairdo... Those curls are simply atrocious. But her mane color is gorgeous, to a certain point."

"Only if I can ask for something I like... For both things... And those curls are natural... It's just been some time since I last brushed them."

Rarity gasped and levitated a mane brush out of her bag.

"Can I?" She asked Katrina.

Katrina nodded, and Rarity began to brush, only to find out that Katrina's hair was worse than tangled. She brushed Katrina's hair for several hours. At first, Katrina hated it but she eventually enjoyed it. After all, she was a girly tomboyish girl, and she enjoyed everything that resembled a relaxing bath time.

"You should bring her to next week's get-together, Fluttershy. I think she might love it, even if she looks like Rainbow Dash."

"Yes, please mom, say yes?" Katrina pleaded.

"Fine, Katrina. I'll bring you."

"Katrina... That's a wonderful name." Rarity told Katrina.

"Thanks!"

And the three continued to talk for the rest of the day, parting with each other at sunset.

* * *

Axle was walking around the room. He had just been un-hooked from the medical equipment, and he was eager to exercise again. Celestia then walked in the open door.

"I see you are fine." Celestia said.

"Yeah..." Axle replied, scratching the back of his head.

An awkward silence fell between the two. Both stood there, thinking about a way to reveal their feelings for each other.

"I want to... I need to... Go ahead... No you..." They said in unison.

They laughed at the awkward situation they were in.

"Go first." Axle said.

"Okay. It has been several days since you arrived here, and we had a lot of time to know each other. And I..." Celestia said, but simply stopping, searching for the right word.

"I should have gone first. What you said is true, and it was fun. And I think I developed feelings for you. But you're millennia old, and I can't live that long. I..."

Axle stopped and looked at Celestia. She was silently crying. Axle felt a stinging sensation in his stomach. He hugged Celestia, unable to say anything. Celestia broke the hug and looked at Axle. She was a little taller than him, so she looked down.

"I don't mean that we can't try, but..."

Axle stopped once more. Celestia took this opportunity to kiss Axle. This time, Axle didn't break the kiss. Instead, he kissed back, feeling better than he ever did. They stayed like this, kissing each other, for a long time before Luna interrupted, calling Celestia to do her duties of lowering the sun. The sunset of that day was different than usual. Not that the colours were different, but that sunset gave off a happy feeling.

* * *

Chuck was at the bar of the ship, a glass of whiskey in front of him. What had happened with Katrina had brought back Jenny's case, and he had made some research. He took the printed file up from the counter, and opened it. A picture of Jenny was held with a paperclip to the file. General information was written on the first page. He flipped the page to the second, a report of progress for the super-soldier training. He flipped the page again, reaching the interesting part.

It was not a report about Jenny per se. It was a report of research on a collective mind device. It was signed by Rebecca. But the worst thing was that he knew about that, and the original report. This report had been altered, saying the technology could be used as a soldier mind controlling device. Jenny, like all the super-soldier, had been implanted with a mind controlling chip.

Chuck threw the file back on the counter. He was getting pissed by the Federation's actions even more. He took his glass and held it near his mouth. He let out a sigh before downing the content of his glass. He put the glass down on the counter and took the file. He got up and left the bar.

On his way to his room, he caught a bit of conversation. He stopped and hid around a corner, listening to the conversation.

"... on the surface with a local." A man said with a high-pitched voice.

"Will she still be affected?" Another man said, his voice deeper.

"Of course! However, we must keep a low profile for now."

"Yes. Our plan must not be discovered. Now go back to your work before any suspicion arrises."

The two men bowed slightly, and parted. Chuck frowned. 'This means we are at risk... Better raise the alert level.' He thought. Chuck then raised his arm on which the command bracelet was. He pressed a button, and spoke.

"Access code alpha-omega-theta-three-three-one. Raise alert level to yellow. Security breached on several levels. Scan for any unauthorized communication and report to me, and only me. The crew must not be aware of the change in alert level until they are proven clean. Any suspicious behavior must be reported to me, and I will take the necessary actions. No override possible. No access to ship's file with the authorization of the captain. Captain's order."

His bracelet dinged, and the alert level, which was shown on the bracelet's screen, went from blue to yellow. He resumed walking, but instead of going to his room, he went to the bridge. 'Let's try to find one or two clean technicians..." Chuck thought as he reached the bridge's door.


	6. Changeling and cutie marks

**Hey there! Before you start reading, I'd like to say something. I still need OCs, mostly humans affiliated with the Federation of Nations. I also need some ponies. Like always, OCs are owned by their respective creators.**

* * *

Chuck, and the few technicians he knew he could trust, was on the bridge. Except for them, it was empty. Down in the ventral hangar, three R-5 HST (Heavy Supply Transport) were being loaded with equipment and vehicles. The three pilots and the ten soldiers selected to do the delivery were clean, as were those on the planet. The control tower of the ventral hangar had been closed temporarily, which meant that the clearance and monitoring of the three vessels would be done from the bridge.

"All three R-5 are loaded."

"Copy that. Please stand by." The young technician said to the soldier.

The technician looked at Chuck. The latter nodded and the technician went back to looking at the screen.

"You're all clear for takeoff. Good luck."

The three R-5 took off and left the ventral hangar. Chuck let out a sigh. He was glad everything was going well since he put the ship to the yellow alert level. The planet kept rotating, slowly ending the night.

* * *

Kyle was sad to leave the planet. His equipment was already inside the R-1, and Bill was almost over with the checklist. The landing site had been developed more since they first landed, fifteen days ago. Supply had arrived a few minutes earlier, and the soldiers were frantically moving around to equip the landing site.

Sarah let out a sigh, glad to finally go back to her lab. She had samples to analyze with more complex equipment that could not be brought with her.

The roar of the engines shook the hull of the R-1 as it took off from the ground. 'A few hours and I'm back to my lab...' Sarah thought as the R-1 shot almost straight up through the atmosphere.

* * *

Katrina was hiding in a bush, looking at an orange Pegasus filly with a purple mane and tail. The day before, she had met the CMC, and the became almost instant best friends, once the 'monster act' got out of the way. She was now waiting for the right moment to strike.

Scootaloo turned around after hearing a bush move. To her disappointment, it was only a bunny munching on a bush. She turned around again, then she suddenly felt something over her. The shadow the thing was casting also helped her feel in danger.

Katrina jumped of the filly, the two rolling on the ground and laughing as they got covered in mud.

"Gotcha, Scoot!" Katrina said between laughs.

"I know Kat!" Scootaloo answered her friend.

The two got up and looked around.

"One down, two to go. Wanna help?"

"Sure!"

Katrina and Scootaloo walked around Ponyville, looking for either Sweetie Belle or Applebloom. Scootaloo was on her scooter, Katrina running beside her. Katrina then stopped and tugged on Scootaloo's tail, making her stop. Katrina then pointed at a bush with a pink bow.

Scootaloo giggled at the lame attempt to hide. Katrina motioned to Scootaloo to stay quiet, and she slowly crept to the bush. She poked the bush several times, then she bounced on it, crushing the bush. Applebloom then came out of the ground without her bow. She grabbed the ribbon out of under Katrina, then she ran away, Scootaloo in hot pursuit.

"Did you really have to be so rough?" A squeaky voice asked.

Katrina slowly got up, dragging a white unicorn filly with a pink and purple swirl mane and tail.

"Sorry... Kinda got a little over board..."

"A little?"

Katrina dragged Sweetie Belle out of the hole she dug to hide in.

"Two down, one to go."

"Can I help?!"

"Sure."

Katrina picked up Sweetie Belle and ran after Scootaloo and Applebloom. After several minutes of running, they reached the Everfree forest's tree line. Applebloom and Scootaloo were both standing side by side, staring at the trees.

Katrina ran to Applebloom and grabbed her tail.

"Gotcha... What are you guys doin'?"

"Ah... Ah saw somethin'... Somethin' big..." Applebloom said, fear obvious in her voice.

Then, something moved behind the tress, causing the leaves to rustle. Scootaloo, Applebloom and Sweetie Belle all screamed at the top of their lungs, causing Katrina to roll her eyes. She walked past her three friends, her knife in hand.

"Shut up." She told her friends.

Applebloom stopped screaming, and she bumped Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle so they would stop screaming. Katrina kept advancing slowly towards the trees, her knife shaking a little. She reached the trees and looked around, finding nothing. She turned around to face her friends.

"There's nothin' there."

As soon as she said that, something moved behind Katrina. She turned around towards the thing in time to see it move closer to her, trying to grab her. Katrina stabbed the thing in the arm, causing a blue-green blood to come out from the wound. Katrina took the opportunity given by the screaming thing to turn around and run away, picking Applebloom and Sweetie Belle on the way. Scootaloo followed her on her scooter.

They ran for a few minutes, reaching the CMC's club house. Under the club house was Applejack who was looking for Applebloom. She saw the three fillies and the human girl running like Tartarus was after them. They stopped in front of Applejack. Katrina and Scootaloo were panting heavily.

"What in tarnation is goin' on?!"

"A thing tried ta grab Kat near the Everfree Forest! At least she had her knife..."

"What did it look like?" Applejack asked, now concerned.

"It was a black, insect-like bipedal creature." Katrina said once she recovered her breath.

Applejack shivered at the description, getting a feeling of déjà vu.

"We better talk ta Twi 'bout that thing." Applejack said, and the fillies and the human nodded.

* * *

"A bipedal changeling?" Twilight asked, a doubt across her face.

Applejack was sitting on a cushion in the library while Twilight was pacing around.

"Yes. It attacked tha girls, but Katrina managed ta injure tha creature. She said black and insect-like."

Twilight gulped. They had very little knowledge of changelings beside the fact that they needed love to survive. The worst possible thing at the moment would be the changelings attacking in an evolved form.

"The humans once had an encounter with an alien species similar to the changelings. From what I understand, that species had the ability to evolve its DNA using the DNA of other species."

Applejack looked confused, and Twilight let out a sigh.

"That means that the species could change its abilities using corpses!"

Applejack nodded, a shiver running along her spine.

"I need to inform both Celestia and Chuck."

* * *

Sarah was sitting at a desk in one of the 'University' style rooms where scientists could receive their formation. Kyle was at the front, explaining his theories and his observations.

"... due to their many abilities. Also, I discovered that their DNA is similar to ours on some level. First, their DNA has the same structure as ours. Second, it uses the same nucleobases as ours, and the same molecules compound as our DNA. Much like us, ponies are diploid, which means their chromosomes are in pairs. And like us, ponies have twenty-three pairs, for a total of 46 chromosomes. I don't say that our DNA is identical, but the similarity between the two led me to theorize that reproduction between our two species is possible. However, as long as there are no case of human/pony offspring, I can't say for sure if there will be hybridization or not."

A young man then stepped up on the stage, much to Kyle's dismay. The man then turned around and spoke.

"Sorry to interrupt, but could Dr. Sarah Samson please come with me."

Sarah got up, and the man headed for the door. Sarah followed him. The man led Sarah through most of the ship to a briefing room the military used for the briefing and the debriefing of missions. The man gestured to Sarah to sit down. She sat down, and Chuck entered the room.

"Sarah, what you are going to hear here is highly confidential. A few hours ago, Twilight contacted the ship about a bipedal changeling."

"How can a changeling be a bipedal creature?"

"I don't know either. But Twilight theorized that the changelings might be similar to the Invaders."

"That's where I come in."

"Yes. You are the scientist with the most knowledge of the Invaders. Combined with your training, you are the most qualified person for this mission. You will be sent down on the planet with a party of five soldiers. I picked them up myself. They are Major Lloyd Adams, sergeant Burt K. Rodriguez, first sergeant Jax 'Tank' Gunner, technical sergeant Alek Halo and private first class Jennifer Donovan."

Sarah nodded.

"Once you land, go to the library. Celestia sent a scientist from Canterlot. He might be able to help. Good luck. Dismiss."

Sarah got up and headed for the door. Chuck then spoke, stopping her in her track.

"One more thing. All the needed equipment is already in the R-1 you will take to go down. Your team is almost all on the planet. There's only the technical sergeant still on the ship. He won't talk much, and he will try to stay unnoticed. Now, go to the ventral hangar."

Sarah left the briefing room and headed for the ventral hangar.

* * *

Twilight was pacing around the library. The scientist Celestia had sent was crazier than Pinkie Pie, and it was almost impossible to be crazier than Pinkie Pie. Said pink party pony had left the library just a few minutes ago, her head hanging low and muttering to herself about how in Equestria was the scientist even real.

Suddenly, something blew up in the basement. Twilight teleported there, only to see a light brown male unicorn with a short dark gray mane and tail with light gray streaks, green eyes and a cutie mark consisting of a brain with two clicking gears stuck in a web of what looked like cotton candy. Twilight shook her head.

"Turns out, the spiderbot seems to explode at random, projecting a decent amount of cotton candy web around."

Just then, a spider-like robot walked in front of the unicorn, blowing up, and covering him with more cotton candy web. Twilight let out sigh, and cleaned everything.

"Listen, Logic Gear. I know you are a scientist and a teacher at Canterlot University, but please restrain from building any more robots!" Twilight said.

"Yes, Princess."

Then, a knock on the front door of the library caught Twilight's attention. She teleported back in the main room of the library. She opened the door and saw Sarah, Lloyd, Jax, Jennifer, Burt and a new face. He seemed a little uneasy.

"Come in." Twilight said, and the six humans walked in.

* * *

Sarah was crouched near the place where the attack happened. She took a sample of the blue-green blood, and got back up.

"We need to go in the forest."

"WHAT! There are monsters in there!" Logic said, fear visible in his eyes.

"FYI, we are armed." Jax said.

"FYI?"

"For your information." Sarah explained the acronym to Logic.

Sarah began to walk in the bushes covering the ground, followed by every soldier. Logic stood there for a few seconds before running after them.

The group progressed slowly but surely, and after a hour and a half, they came to a small clearing with a small hill in the center. Jennifer wandered a little too close to the hill, and a changeling jumped out of the bushes towards the oblivious Jennifer. Alek took his P99 and fired once. The bang startled Logic and caught the humans' attention. Jennifer crouched by the changeling's corpse.

"Nasty."

Sarah walked to the corpse and knelt beside it, examining the corpse.

"Interesting... The exoskeleton is much thinner than what the Invaders had... Unless..."

Sarah got up and un-holstered her gun, arming it.

"What's going on?" Burt asked, looking around.

"That is a low-class drone, a scout. There are others." Sarah explained.

The soldiers all raised their weapons, looking left and right. Jax tugged on the ammunition belt of his Light Banishment to make sure it was locked in place. Burt switched modes on his MR-7 Lady Killer submachine-gun, going from single shot to semi-continuous fire. Jennifer unloaded her PR-45, checking the clip, then reloading her gun. Lloyd kept looking around, and Alek stayed quiet, some distance away from the team and beside Logic who was freaking out.

Suddenly, a buzzing sound came from the bushes in several directions. Then, several changelings scouts came out of the bushes, wings buzzing wildly and fangs gleaming in the light. Sarah opened fire on one of the changelings, and from then, it was like hell broke loose.

As soon as a scout was killed, two came out of the bushes to replace their fallen brother. Jax was standing still, mowing down dozens of changelings with 200 rounds of steel coming from his light machine-gun. Behind him, Lloyd and Jennifer were back to back, shooting down scouts after scouts, going through their ammunitions quickly. Jennifer ejected an empty clip and put a new one in, just in time to shoot a changeling that had crept to her.

Closer to the hill, Burt was protecting Sarah, shooting streams of bullets at the few changelings that got past the primary line of fire. Sarah shot some as well, reloading her gun every now and then.

Logic was panicking. Not that the firing was very loud, a problem that had been solved with magnetic guns, cutting the explosion of gunpowder, but he had never seen so much destruction coming from such small devices. Alek shot every once in a while when a changeling was headed for him and Logic, startling even more the poor unicorn scientist with the explosive sound the old P99 made.

Changeling corpses were building up quickly. There must have been thousands of corpses around the humans.

"This is crazy!" Logic shouted once everything seemed to have calmed down.

"Sorry, but we have no choice." Lloyd said

Sarah was examining some corpses, taking samples every now and then.

"Logic, could you come here and look at this." Sarah called.

The unicorn made his way to Sarah. He looked at the changeling corpse, and repressed the urge to vomit.

"What do you think?"

"Well, they look identical to normal drones, but they are not drones. These are much smaller, and they have no horn. I think you were right about what they were. Mere scouts, which probably means their hive is nearby."

Alek had wandered around a little, keeping to himself, when he spotted something.

"Major."

"Yeah?"

Lloyd went over to Alek. He saw what Alek had found.

"Hey, Doctor. You should come to see this."

Sarah went over to Lloyd and Alek and gasped. The small hill was not a hill, but rather the entrance of some sort of hive. There was what looked like blood gather in a small pool.

"This looks like human or pony blood." Sarah said.

Then, something came out of the opening. It was like a changeling with the same wings and other insect-like features, however this one was not a pony. It was a human.

Alek raised his P99 and fired, killing the creature. Blue-green blood came out of the bullet hole, and the creature shook a little, then stopped.

"We need to get this back to Ponyville. We need to study it." Sarah said.

Jennifer reached in the bag she carried and took out a corpse bag. Everyone looked at her with very confused looks.

"What? Better safe than sorry!" She said, earning several eye rolls.

* * *

"So it's dead?"

Chuck was sitting in the captain's chair on the bridge. He was still keeping the bridge crew to a minimum for now.

"Yes. We brought it back to the library, where Twilight allowed us to use the basement as a lab to examine and study the creature. Logic insisted on helping me, and so did Twilight."

"Okay then. Next report in ten hours."

Sarah nodded and her hologram vanished.

"Well, that's taken care of." Chuck said.

* * *

Katrina was sitting on her bed, her three friends around her.

"What could we do?!" Scootaloo asked.

"Ah can't think of anythin' we didn't already try." Applebloom answered.

"There's gotta be something we forgot." Sweetie Belle added.

"Well, that might lead nowhere, but I noticed that Scoots always uses her scooter, and when she does, she always pulls some tricks. Maybe if you pulled some harder tricks..."

"You mean, my talent could be stunts?"

"Maybe."

Scootaloo was about to laugh, but she didn't.

"Actually, it might just be." She said.

"But we still don't know what either me or Bloom's talent is."

"My mom told me the time she foalsat for you three, and about that lullaby you turned into a gospel song."

Sweetie Belle blushed as she remembered the time in question.

"And?" Applebloom asked.

"She sang the lullaby. Turning that into a gospel means you're a musical genius."

"That still leaves me!"

Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle thought for a few seconds before realisation hit them simultaneously.

"THE TALENT SHOW!"

Applebloom's face darkened.

"That was a total failure." Applebloom said.

"Yeah, because we didn't do the right thing! I sang when Sweetie should've sung. You did the choreography while I should've. What did Sweetie do that she shouldn't have?"

"The props. And the costumes." Applebloom said, uncertain of where her friends were going.

"It should've been you, Bloom. Remember, you're the one that repaired the old club house." Sweetie Belle said.

"Yeah, it's totally AWESOME!" Scootaloo added.

"handiwork."

"Huh?"

"Your talent's probably working with tools and designing stuff."

"You mean like Rarity?"

"Maybe."

"Ugh."

"What is wrong, Bloom?"

"I hate all that fancy shmancy stuff!"

"Why don't you give it a try? I am sure you'll be good at it. I mean, Rarity is my sister, and I know I won't be a designer like her. But you did give me some advice on how to make the costumes for our show in the Talent Show."

"I would be glad to help you, darling."

All three fillies turned around and saw Rarity standing in the doorway.

"Fine." Applebloom said, defeated.

* * *

Rarity was supervising Applebloom as she took measurements of Katrina and gave them to Rarity so she could write them down. Applebloom put the tape down and spat a few times.

"Tastes awful."

Katrina giggled at that.

"So you probably want somethin' similar to your current outfit, right?"

"Yeah. But not in the greens and blues of the military. I was thinking maybe lilac and pale blue?"

Both Rarity and Applebloom looked at Katrina with a deadpan expression.

"No. Not only does the two color don't really go together, they won't be right fer ya. How about dark purple and..."

Applebloom looked at Rarity, then around the room and finally back to Katrina.

"Rarity won't like me, but how about dark purple and dark grey?"

Katrina nodded, and Rarity almost cried about Applebloom's colour choices.

"Alright, so I'll start workin' on 'em." Applebloom said, and she pushed Katrina out of the room.

* * *

Three hours later, Applebloom came down from Rarity's creation room. She looked tired, and there was no cutie mark on her flank yet.

"Alright, so come up."

Applebloom led Katrina back in the creation room, where there was a curtain hiding a portion of the room. Rarity stood in a corner, a smile on her face.

"Here goes nothin'."

Applebloom opened the curtain, revealing to similar set of clothes. The first one consisted of a dark grey t-shirt and a dark purple military style jacket with a dark grey cargo pant with a wide band of dark purple on the side of each leg. The second set was identical, but the colours were switched.

"Wow. They're awesome, Bloom!" Katrina said.

Applebloom felt relief wash over her. Rarity came over to Applebloom.

"I doubted your choice of color at first, but now that I see what your mind created, I must say that I am impressed. You have a lot of potential. And you even took the time to make some human mannequins as well."

Rarity's smiled grew wider. She went over to Katrina and whispered something in her ear. She nodded and went back down. After a few minutes, Katrina came back with Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo. Both gasped when they saw Applebloom.

"So? Did you like it?"

"Actually, yes. It's kinda unnerving ta have ta wait 'till tha customer tells us if it's good or not, but I liked it."

"Well, darling, look at your flank." Rarity said.

Applebloom did so, and she was surprised when she saw what was on her flank. On it was a cutie mark consisting of a hammer and a needle crossed. There was a thread attached to the needle.

"Huh? I understand the needle, but why a hammer?"

"Darling, you BUILT a few mannequins from only measurements and your memory of how the humans are made."

Slowly, the fact that she had her cutie mark sunk into Applebloom's brain. Eventually, she bounced around in happiness.

"And I would be glad to take you as my apprentice, Applebloom." Rarity added.

Applebloom jumped to Rarity's neck and hugged her. The bell signalling a new customer then chimed.

"What in tarnation was that about? Katrina, come down and explain why you ran like crazy?"

"Applebloom has her cutie mark!" Katrina said, and seconds later Applejack was standing in the doorway, her jaw wide open.

* * *

The next day, Applebloom arrived at school wearing a dress she made, hiding her cutie mark. Her three friends were snickering at her plan to surprise Diamond Tiara. Applebloom reached her friends, then the bully began her rant.

"Would you like at that. One of the blank flank is afraid of her flank. What a shame for one of Rarity's beautiful dress."

"Actually, Ah made the dress." Applebloom said.

"Oh, come on. You wouldn't even be able to sew yourself."

"True. Ah had help from Rarity for that, but the design's mine."

Diamond Tiara then came closer to Applebloom. She bit down on the dress and tugged, causing it to rip. However, the dress came apart right where Applebloom's cutie mark was, exposing her cutie mark to the world. Diamond Tiara's jaw hung low as she saw the mark on Applebloom's flank, mark she revealed herself. The fillies and colts crowded around Applebloom, causing Diamond Tiara to look like an idiot. She growled and went away, trying to find a way to come back at Applebloom.

* * *

After the school, the CMC and Katrina walked together through Ponyville.

"What kind of tricks could I pull?" Scootaloo asked.

"I dunno. But I know the pilots from Earth sometimes get their inspiration from watching old skateboard competitions."

"What's a skateboard?" Sweetie Belle asked.

"Wait, you mean those handle-less scooter?" Scootaloo asked.

"Yeah. And I think we could ask one of them." Katrina said as she pointed at a pilot with a laptop on his lap.

The four friends went over to him.

"Sorry, but could you show use one of the old skateboard competitions? Because my friend here wants to learn some new tricks." Katrina said.

"No." Bill said.

"Why not?!" Scootaloo asked.

"'Cause you won't learn anything. Here, watch this."

Bill clicked on something, then he turned his laptop so the girls could see the screen. A video of humans about twenty doing tricks in an urban setting began playing. Some of the tricks they did were dangerous and considered expert moves. Scootaloo smiled and before the video even ended, she left on her scooter.

She went as fast as she could. She directed herself at a few wooden planks placed in a way that gave her a ramp. She jumped off of it, doing a 720° and landing on her wheels. She was now on the rooftops. Each time she jumped from one roof to another, she did a few basic grabs. After a while, when she jumped from roof to roof, she did some more advanced tricks, and she even created some of her own.

After several minutes of urban freestyle, Scootaloo came back to her friends, skidding to a halt and creating a huge cloud of dust. When the dust cleared, her three friends and Bill were stunned by what Scootaloo just did. After a while, Katrina shook out of it the first. She gasped when she saw Scootaloo's flank.

"Incredible! And nice mark!" Katrina said as she pointed at Scootaloo's flank.

On her flank was now the image a burning wheel. Scootaloo flapped her wings and hovered in the air for a few seconds out of pure excitement.

"AWESOME!" Scootaloo said.

"I agree." A Pegasus colt said.

The colt walked to the four girls. He had a light blue coat, yellow eyes and a purple mane and tail. He was about the same age as the four girls. And he was a blank flank.

"Hey! Wanna join the... Cutie mark... Crusaders..." Sweetie Belle said, tears gathering in her eyes.

"What's wrong, Sweetie?" Katrina asked.

"Cutie mark crusaders... No more..." Sweetie Belle said between sobs.

"Come on. Even if I am a human and I'll never really have a cuti mark, it doesn't mean that the Cutie mark crusaders will stop existing. I'm sure your club will continue to exist long after you find your cutie marks. And we can still try to find what my special talent is, and if that colt wants to join, then he'll need to search too!" Katrina said as she hugged Sweetie Belle.

Sweetie Belle hugged back and smiled.

"Thanks. What's your name?"

"Spirited Symphony, but I prefer to be called Spirit." The colt said. "And I'd love to join your club."

* * *

The next day, it was Scootaloo's turn to show her cutie mark. She chose to arrive making stunts, and when she did, Diamond Tiara received a lot of dirt on her.

The day passed without a hitch, and when school was over, Sweetie Belle, Spirited Symphony, Katrina, Applebloom and Scootaloo walked towards the club house, which meant they had to pass in front of the landing site. Some soldiers were playing instruments outside while others were building a stage.

"What's going on?" Sweetie Belle asked.

"We're putting a music show together to give the ponies a taste of some music from Earth." One of the soldier said.

"Sounds fun." Katrina said.

"Could I sing?" Sweetie Belle asked.

"Why not? Go talk to that girl over there. She'll give you a song to sing on stage." The same soldier said as he pointed at a woman looking at some sheets.

Sweetie Belle went to her and talked a little before the woman gave her some sheets.

* * *

The sun had set about a hour ago, and the show was about to start. Katrina, Spirit, Applebloom and Scootaloo were standing in front of the stage, waiting for the show to start.

The show began with House Full of Bullets from Joe Satriani. Then they continued with All To Myself from Marianas Trench, followed by Welcome to My Life from Simple Plan, If I Had $1000000 and It's All Been Done from Barenaked Ladies. Everypony present swayed their heads in sync with the music.

Afterwards, the soldiers played Kung Fu Fighting from Carl Douglas. They also played several jazz and blues pieces, as well as some original creations of several soldiers. The show was about to end with one song to go, and still no sign of Sweetie Belle. Then the soldiers finished their song and left the stage, leaving the place for the host.

"Alright. I hope you all enjoy yourself. He said.

The ponies then cheered to show him he was right.

"Good. Next piece is a little special. I'm sure you all noticed that all the soldiers you saw were male. Well, next piece is actually mostly female. And they have a guest singer, a little pony that's looking for her talent. I heard her, and lemme tell you, she ROCK! Her talent's surely singing. The song they'll play is My Favourite Game from The Cardigans. Fillies and gentlecolts, give 'em a warm welcome."

The ponies cheered. Some female soldiers took place on stage. Then a figure of a filly slowly went to the microphone. Katrina, Applebloom, Scootaloo and Spirit knew who it was. Sweetie Belle took several deep breaths. 'Ignore all the ponies and enjoy yourself. Ignore everypony and enjoy yourself... Just like she told you... Everything will be fine...' She thought.

Slowly, the light came to Sweetie Belle. There was a single gasp from the audience as Diamond Tiara saw who it was. Sweetie Belle gulped and gave the head signal. The music began. Katrina knew the song, and she liked it. Soon came the first lyrics, and Sweetie Belle began to sing.

"I don't know what you're looking for. You haven't found it, baby, that's for sure. You rip me up, you spread me all around, in the dust of the deed of time.

And this is not a case of lust, you see. It's not a matter of you versus me. It's fine the way you want me on your own. But in the end it's always me alone.

And I'm losing my favourite game. You're losing your mind again. I'm losing my baby, losing my favourite game."

Katrina was stunned. Sweetie Belle was really a good singer, able to make a song her own. Sweetie Belle resumed singing.

"I only know what I've been working for. Another you so I could love you more. I really thought that I could take you there, but my experiment is not taking us anywhere.

I had a vision I could turn you right. I stupid mission and a lethal fight. I should've seen it when my hope was new. My heart is black and my body is blue.

And I'm losing my favourite game. You're losing your mind again. I'm losing my favourite game. You're losing your mind again. I'm losing my baby, losing my favourite game.

I'm losing my favourite game. You're losing your mind again. I've tried but you're still the same. I'm losing my baby, you're losing a saviour and a saint."

The song wrapped up. Everypony was cheering for Sweetie Belle. She saluted the audience, then she went backstage. The host came back.

"That was some singing! Thanks to you all. And before you leave, here's Big Bad Moon from Joe Satriani."

Sweetie Belle came running to her friends. She was excited. She was jumping up and down.

"I got my cutie mark!" She said as she showed Katrina, Applebloom and Scootaloo her flank.

On it was a microphone with three small notes around it. The four girls looked around, looking for Spirit. Sweetie Belle found him. He was still looking at the stage where the final song was being played. And they were putting a lot of passion in it, with pyrotechnics shooting in the sky.

As the solo came, flames came out of the stage, and the main guitarist threw himself to his knees, sliding a little, playing like there was no tomorrow. The song wrapped up, and the ponies began to go back home. Spirit came running to his new friends.

"Look!"

As he said that, he showed them his flank, where a burning treble-clef was slowly appearing. They all cheered for each other, and they said their goodbyes to each other.

* * *

**Logic Gear and Spirited Symphony are owned by OracleSight.**


End file.
